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AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 

OF RACING 
■ IN THE UNITED STATES 






THE AM 




N 



m^ 




AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF 
RACING IN THE UNITED STATES 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF TURF CELEBRITIES 



^'J^^k^ 



M-DCCC-XC-VIU 



THE HISTORICAL COMPANY 
NEW YORK 



V._ 



h 



'j'> 




v^^ 



Copyright, 1898. by 
The Historical Company 



(C'COLL *• ROY COMPANY 
PKINTERS, NEW YORK 



VVo^— \.^V\ 



u^ 



PRHFACE 



WITHIN the lifetime oftho present goneiMtion nicSrio; 
li;is :itl;iincd the highest import:ince ;ind popuhirity 
ornny sport in the United St;ites, while the blood horse has 
t:ikcn :i position in public estimation only second to that 
held bv his compeers of Great Britain, the native honle 
of hisiace. it is true that love ol the horse and interest 
in his capabilities have never at any time in our history 
been lackina; on the part of Americans. In this respect, 
indeeil, our coMnti'vmrn ha\'e frankly confessed their 
oritiin. and have been line to one of the principal 
tiaits of chai'acter that dislinijuish the Hn^lish speaking 
people. Nc'vertheiess, despite the attention that was 
early given to the lunning turf in this coLintrv. the com- 
plete development of this spoil and a full lecognition of 
ihe importance of the thoroughbred horse have been of 
comparatively recent growth. It is almost within the 
remembrance of those now living when racing was con- 
lined to particLilar sections, wlien breeding the noble 
animals who minister to the highest of sports was con- 
ducted on ,-1 small scale, and when theii' peiloiin- 
ances on the tiack awakened, outside of the ciixle 
especially devoted to racing, only a very limited popular 
interest. 

It is our privilege to live at a time when this condition 
of .affairs has passed away almost completely and. it is 
conlidently hoped, perm.inenth'. 1 )isc(iur.igement now 
no longer confmiUs the sportsman whose intelligent 
efforts ai'e directed towaid the impro\-ement of the hoi'se 
n|- ihe diauiiiisn.ilinn ni his iiowris. lu^lead there is 
e\en e'xhibiled a libel, d aiui iiicieasiiig degree of public 
appreciation of the benefit which is thus conferred upon 
llieiMiiiiiiiinilv.it l.iige. ap.iil hum the mere rclax.ition 
which the sport affoiiis its p.itroiis. 

Racing h.is .also helped to break down the sectional 
b.irriers which Innm-ih' existed between the v.irious 
divisions ol our coLintrv. While the turf owes so much 
of its prest'iit popularity ,ind success to unsellish devotion 
.ind unslinled expeiidiliiie "11 Ihe p. lit of men of we.illh. 
it rem.iins a truly democratic sport, the legitimate pleas- 
ures of which can be shared b\' all classes, and which is 
llierefore eminenllv suited to the spirit 1h.it animates our 
n.itional life. The widespre.id interest that is shown in 
It is no longer limited bv any sectional considerations, 
ll fuithermore creates hiller general knowledge o( the- 
c.ipabilities of all parts of the land ,ind arouses the spirit 
of national pride, demonstratinir as it does the wonderliil 
diversity ol natiii.il conditions within the limits of the 
United States. These things are conspicuously displ.iyed 
m the .animals that the different sections produce and the 



modificiltlon and improvement of horseflesh th.it results 
under variations of soil and climate, j, 

Moreover, the popularity of the tiirf'With the very class 
whose presence is most needed to irtsute its continued 
existence and healthy devolpment is, fully assured. Its 
honors arc, as they should be, sufficient to draw into 
the ranks of its active supporters those who are foremost 
in our social and business life. Men of the highest 
standing and greatest wealth arc numbered among its 
most active participants. As already intimated, they 
have taken the lead in raising the standard of the Amer- 
ican horse. Their private breeding establishments, 
conducted on a scale unequaled in any part of the world, 
have given the most successful and remarkable evidence 
of the science and skill that can be devoted to the pro- 
duction oj' perfect animals, and the appreciation which 
their efforts call forth is a powerful inducement to others 
to follow their example. At the same time it is to 
gentlemen of such character that the patrons of the turf 
look for the regulation of its affairs upon the basis which 
alone can render it a spoit worthy of public confidence. 
In this respect, too. there is every reason for congratu- 
lation on the part of all lovers of the horse. 

Considerations such as these have led to the prepara- 
tion of this volume. A demand has often been expressed 
by the general public .and the turf world fora publication 
SLich as it has been the aim of both the editors and the 
publishers to make this book. Interest in the subject 
which is tie. lied in the following pages has never been 
lully satistied. It has been our object to present an 
accur.ite account of the development and conditions of 
racing and of Ihe thoioughbied horse in .Americi, in a 
form which, while rendering the volume authoritative 
and accurate, may increase popular knowledge of the 
turf, past .and present. 

(^ommencino; with an historical account of the runninor 
turf of this country at its inception in colonial days, the 
book thence pursues the subject through the golden age 
of racing in the llrst half of the nineteenth century, and 
also reviews the developments of more recent times by 
vx'hich contemporaneous r,icing has been elevated to its 
present condition of importance and dignity. The story 
is told of some of the most famous racing I'wnts known 
to the .'Vmerican turf from the lime of the great four-mile 
contests down to the Suburbans and Futurities of to-day 
and concise histories of a few of the great thorough- 
breds that have distingui.-.hed the American turf are also 
presented, with an n-c^'ipt "'' "■"" I'entures (■ American 
iiursemen on the Hnglish turf. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Tlie extraordinary ailvaiicemeiit of racinj; in thf pres- 
ent generation has, however, rendered the subject too 
large to be treated entirely in the historical form that has 
just been indicated. It is a complex theme and necessi- 
tates detailed reference to the racing careers of innumer- 
able individuals and descriptions, historical and otherwise, 
of many organizations and properties devoted in one way 
or another to the purposes of the sport. A biographical 
form was, therefore, alter matLire consideralii)n, adopted 
as the most satisfactory method of setting lorth the many 
interesting details concerning the individual components 
of our racing world of to-day. Its organizers and 
leaders, with the oftkial heads of the various bodies 
connected with it, command the first attention, almost 
equaling whom in interest are the leading breeders of 
the country and their establishments. The owners and 
trainers involving, as their liuf histories do, the ri'cords 
and performances of their horses, past and present, are 
next in ordei', following whom are the jockeys ot the 
past and the present, a body about whose achievements 
there is always a large and legitimate amount of public 
curiosity. The large interests now involved in book- 
making and the individual representatives of that pro- 
fession are next treated, while finally, atleiitii^)!! is 
directed to the racing associations and their tracks. 

Our task has been both novel and difficult, and was 
undertaken and has been carried out with due recogni- 
tion of this fact, as well as of the requirements of accu- 
racy and of devotion to the true interests of the IlmI'. It 
is believed that nothing has been presented in its p.iges 
that does not conform to those purposes. The labors 
incident to the preparation of the volume have been ex- 
acting and sometimes discouraging, but, on the whole, 
have been pleasurable and satisfactory. The total 
absence of reliable information relating to the early years 
of the American turf has been the one serious obstacle in 
the way of a comprehensive and reliable story of that 
interesting period, but il is believed that wh.it is set 
forth in the chapters devoted to those years is more 
complete, .ind will be found more valuable, than any- 
thing of the kind ever printed before. 

A work of this character, essentially a compilation, 
must depend for much of its subject-matter upon pre- 
vious publications that have treated with more or less 
fulness different phases of American turf history. We 
have drawn freely from those sources of information, 
as well as '''•om the personal recollections of prominpnt 



turfmen, .iiul liom many original recimls aiui piivate 
papers. In some instances due credit has been given to 
the authorities upon whom we have relied, but it has 
not been possible to do that in every case. We desire, 
however, to make here a general acknowledgment of 
our indebtedne.ss to many gentlemen, and especially to 
some ol the more impoilaiit publkatioiis, to whom we 
have freely placed ourselves under obligations. Those 
well-known spoiling joLirnals, The .Spirit of llie Times 
and The Turf, I'ield and l-'arm, are so well reciigiiized as 
mines of information regarding tuii m.itti-is, that it 
seems ^\\JH^: superlUiuus tn say that any one attempting 
to compile a work ol this character must almost of 
necessity make a very generous use of their columns. 
The daily newspapers of the last half century, and occa- 
sionally some of our leading magazines, especially Out- 
ing, I larper's and File ("eiiturv, have also contribuled 
much general inform, ition on the subject. Outing in 
p.irticul.ir h.is published within the last tew years many 
articles in relation to the thoroughbred and racing that 
are well nigh invaluable. 

Of the older peridd ol the ,'\iiieiicaii turf, prob.ibly 
nothing cm surpass in iiileiest and in value Frank 
Forester's Horse and Horsemanshi|i of the Uniteil .States 
and British Provinces of North America. The historian 
of those early veais llnds liimsell. to a wry surprising 
degree, dependent upon this volume, v,'hich, .ilthough 
not wholly accurate or reliable, still remains the best 
.lulhoiitv th.it We possess upon the subject. Special 
.iltention must be called in this connection to The Horse 
of America in His Derivation. History and Development, 
by Mr. John H. W.ill.ice. llu' eminent tuif wiili-i" and ex- 
pert, a book that w.is published in 1.S97. Although Mr. 
Wallace has devoted himself in this vokime almost 
entirely to the trotting horse with whom he h.is bi'en so 
conspicuously identilied throughout his lite, he gives 
much valuable information in regard to the early history 
of the Ameiic.in tliniuiighbieil. His rese.irches into the 
history ot the horse in the colonial periotl have been 
exhaustive, and have thrown great light upon those 
hitherto neglected times. His original discoveries tiom 
old records and newspapers are of a valuable character, 
and it is no less a pleasure than a duty for the editor of 
this volume to acknowledge particuLir indebtedness to 
his book in these respects. 

LYMAN HORACH WHbKS 

EniTOR 



INTRODUCTION OF THE HORSH INTO AMERICA 



Okigin anp Hariy History of thk Enci ish Thoroughbri.d— ^First Colonial IiyippRtATjouS ittKiSTAi.iioNS 
AND Mares and their ProM'CE— PrimitivH Rl\ciNrr in NrW Yo^il, ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 
Ni-w England and THfi South. 



" HAT ;in historicnl review of the AmericMn turf 



"^ Wdiiki 1h- m.inifesllv incdiiipU'tc tiiJ it not pre- 
sont some tieneiMl consideration of tiu" origin 
and career of this "sport of kini^s" among 
oLir Imefathers in Imuiand must be fuliv apparent to any 
one who has even moderate acquaintance with tire sub- 
ject. It is (juite without llie scope that is ]iro|iosed for 
this volume, and, indeed, needless (or our purpose, to 
trace fully the genesis of the tiioroughj-'red horse. That 
is a t.isk tiiat has been tloiie so nlteii and so thoroughly 
by (ither pens as to call for no repetition in this conncc- 
linn. Nevertheless, (mm the verv n.itiu'e of the case, it 
is impossible to have a comprehensive or intelligent 
undeistaiuiing of the .American thoroughbred without at 
least some general relerence to his piogeiiitors on the 
other side of the Atlantic. 

The thoioughbrcd is a horse th.it has been developed 
for the special use ol the running turf He is of mixed 
origin, tracing his pedigree back to ancestors of many 
divergent races. Rut he breeds so true at the present 
st.ige of his deveio|-iment .and his family is confined 
within such well defined limits as to give full justillcation 
for his title. Although since its inception, nearly four 
centuries ago. his race has multiplied and spread its like- 
ness over all the world, m.iintaining a superiority in 
every cluiie wherein it has been repnulucetl, Hnglaiiti 
w.is the cr.idle in which he was nurtured and has been 
the scene ot his great successes. He is commonly 
spoken of as being of purely Arabian oiigm. but the 
historical accur.icy of that ascription has been torcibly. 
denied by m.aiiy authorities, who have pointed out that 
other strains of blood, even more important and more 
powerfLiI than the traditional Arabian, have contributed 
to his perfection. Without venturing upon a considera- 
tion of these disputed points ,it this time it is wholly 
sutficient for our present pLirpose to start with the undis- 
puted historic (act that the modern thoroughbred in the 
beginning was developed to his present stately size .ind 
form by careiul selection .iikI breeding under the e.vcep- 
tionallv favorable climatic intlLiences "t dreat Mrit.iin. 
Both for spceil aiul endurance the bnghsli blond hoisc is 
the most peili'Ct .inimal ol his lace that ha.s ever been 
produced since the world began. The American thor- 
oughbred tr.ices directly without mixture \n 1-nglish and 
still further back, thiough the Hntjlish, to the oritjinal 



parentage, be that' Turkish, Arabian, Spanish or other. 
Hence it is that we are brought; face to face with the 
absoliit(i necessity of reverting to the creation of the 
English variety in order to come lit the pedigree, to fol- 
low the history and to analyze the characteristics of the 
American horse of this class. 

Should we undert.ike to trace to its primal origin the 
utilization of the horse in conte.sts of speed, as distin- 
guished from his u.se as a draught anim;i! or a warsteed, 
we should lind ourselves in the course of this investiga- 
tion, tr.ivcling far b.ick beyond modern times. Horse 
racing in one form or other was a popular indulgence 
among the most ancient historic peoples of whom any 
record Kas been handed down to ;Us, while centuries 
before the modern thoroughbred had ever been dreamed 
of breeding and training were scientifically practiced. 
The early Assyrians and Egyfitians, as well as other 
Eastern nations, learned to value the horse, not alone for 
his practical usefulness, but also for his racing prowess. 

The horse played a prominent part in the ancient life 
of Greece, and perhaps the earliest example of racing 
recorded in literature is that in Homer's Iliad, where the 
various incidents of the chariot race at the funeral games 
held in honor of Patroclus, are detailed with much vivid- 
ness. The Ciiceks spared neither pains nor expense in 
order to arrive at excellence in speed, endurance and 
condition. (Chariot races were introduced into the 
Olympic games as early as the vear dSo B. C. the 
twentv-littli Olyiiipi.id. Four-hor.se chariot races, two- 
horse chariot races, racing with mounted horses, loose 
horse races, mule races and special races for under-aged 
horses early became established features of these games. 
In all the other national games of Greece similar contests 
had prominent place. To such a height did the passion 
for horse racing attain among the Greeks th.it the Rcro- 
ti.ins nafned one of the months of the year Hippodromius 
or horse racing month. Alcibiades. the Athenian, at 
one tune h.id no less than seven four-horse chariots in 
the Olympic games and carried off three prizes. Aris- 
tophanes speaks of the horse breeding mania among the 
noble youths of Athens, a pursuit that often brought 
them to impoverishment. The Romans followed the 
Greeks in their enthusiasm for this sport, and to own 
a large and valuable stable was a mark of high dis- 
tinction among the wealthy patricians. 



TULi AMERICAN TUKi>' 



AlthoLifili it h.is ivinaiiici.1 lot tho English [Hoplc in 
develop this sport to the highest degree aiul to in;ii<e a 
distinct science ot breeding and training, there exists 
comparatively little historical evidence to show that the 
ancient Britons were at all interested in any form of the 
anuisement. The few native horses that they possessed 
were probably devoted exclusively to domestic and to 
war purposes. Among some of the Germanic tribes, 
however, horse racing was a feature of religious festivals 
from the very earliest historic period, and, that animals 
" from this breed were introduced into Great Britain from 
Gaul and chariot races established there long before the 
Christian era, seems to be unquestionable. The invasion 
of the island by the Romans introduced a new infusion ol 
blood, for the native horse was crossed to a consideiable 
extent by the horses that came with the conquerors. 
After the Romans had Je|iarled and the country was 
brought under the domination ol the .S.ixons. consider- 
able attention began to be paid to the purely English 
breed, and racing took on something of a tentative 
character. 

it is difficult, however, to trace with any degree of 
confidence back to its inception the hi>torv oi' h^rse 
racing in England. That it went beyond ihe time of the 
Roman invasion is probably true, and the Romans 
established many race courses in the counlrv. The lirst 
delinite mention of the sport is made by Malmeslnirv. 
who spe.iks of certain running horses' that were sent in 
the niiuh ceniuiy by HuL;h C.ipel, founder of the myal 
house of France, as a present to King Alhelstane, to 
whose sister, Hthelswitha, he was paying court. Very 
soon the people began to manilesl a desire to preserve a 
monopoly of the breed that h.id been iiuioduced among 
them and that had evidently been improved by crossing 
with the n.itive breed. In the year 930 a law w.is passed 
prohibiting the exportation of horses of any description. 
it was also in Athelstane's reign that many Spanish 
horses were imported, and these undoubtedly had a 
strong influence upon the thoroughbred stock that was 
to come upon the scene some seven centuries latei'. 

During *'m- reign nf William the Conqueror nviny 
fint ...11.,.. is were brought into the country from Nor- 
mandy, Flanders anc'. Spain and about the same time 
Roger de Belesmy, Farl of Shrewsbury, introduced sev- 
eral Spanish stallions into his Welsh dominions in order 
to improve the stock then existing. The hist Arab 
horse ever imported into Great Britain came in the reign 
of Henry I., 1100-15. Alexander 1., King of Scotland, 
presented the animal to the Church of St. Andrews, but 
the progeny of this steed, if any there were, ti.is never 
been recorded. In the early part of the tweltth century, 
a regul.ir race course was established in London, the 
celebrated Smithlield, at once horse market and race 
course. The description of this affair, appearing in an 



account of the hmse market held .it Smithlield Plain, 
w.is written hv William Filz-Stephen and is the earliest 
printed account of English horse racing. The author 
says : 

" When a race is to be run by such horses as these, 
and peril. i|is by others whuh, in like manner, according 
to their breed, are strong for carriage and vigorous for 
Ihe course, the peo[>le raise a shout and oi\K-r the com- 
mon hui'.ses {o be wilhdiMwn to .mother pait of the field, 
fhe jockeys, who are boys expert in the m.iii.igemeiit 
ol horses, which they regulate by means of curb bridles, 
sometimes by threes and sometimes by twos, as the 
match is made, prepare themselves for the contest. 
Their chief aim is to prevent a competitor from getting 
before lliem. The horses, too. after their manner, are 
eager for the race; their limbs treml'le, .ind, impatient of 
delay they c.innol stand still; upon the sign.il being 
given they stretch nut llieir limbs, liiiiiv dii ihe course, 
and are borne along with unremitting speed. fhe 
riders, ins|iired wilh ihe love of praise and Ihe hope uf 
victory, clap spurs to Iheir llyiiig horses, lashing them 
with whips and inciting them by their shouts." 

Ill the killer p. Ill of the same cenlury. about the lime 
that Kich.ird Caviw de Limi was reigiimg. the nobility 
indulged themselves 111 running their horses at cerl.iin 
seasons of the \r.iy and especially in the f.isler and 
WhilSLintide hnlul.ivs. In the old meliic.il roiii.ince ol 
Sir Bevis ol SoLiih Hampton it is s.iid: 

" 111 suiiinKT .11 Wlnlsiiiilklc, 

When Knights nuist on hoisc rule, 
A course let Ihem make on ;i i.l:iy, 
Skviies aiul I'.illV.iyc lor lo .iss^ye 
Whuh horse thai best m.iy leii. 
Three miles in the course was then, 
Who that iiiii^ht ryile him shouKle 
Have lorty ponnas uf ready goUle." 

It has been pointed out that here we have an authen- 
tic record of something iie.irlv resembling a real race 
with a limited course and .1 v.ilu.ible prize, the Smith- 
field runnings, described by Malmesbury, seeming to 
savor more of horse dealers' displays in order to sell, 
than of real r.ices. Running horses are mentioned in 
the register of royal expenditures in the reign of King 
John, who succeeded Richard CcL'ur de Lion. The Ed- 
wards II., ill. .iiul IV., were breeders ol horses .ind 
Henry Vlll. also imported running horses from the East. 
Public races wereest.iblished at Chester as e.irly as I 512, 
and, some thirty years alter, silver bells, denominated .St. 
George's bells, were offered as prizes. Horse racing 
came very considerably in vogue in the closing years of 
the sixteenth century and during the reign of James !., 
i()OV2S, it seems in have been fin.illv perm.ineiitly es- 
tablished in pul>lic lavor. In this period private matches 
between iieiiilemen who Were their own jockeys be- 



TiiR A^^•jl-tlp\N WuiFjIf 

i i "'i ( 

j ' ■ ' 'I 

cami' viMV common .'iiul nt the same tiinr llic llrst piinlic the King seems to liave sent agents tp Bavbaiv as well as 

to the Levant ami elsewhere t(i puici'iase horses for him. 



race nieelmiis weie estabiislied. 

Kini;' James maJe special efforts to impro\'e the brfed 
of native hoises by importations and thenceforth lireed- 
iny: was conslantiv and proi:;ressiveiv attended to. The 
Kini; in peison imported Maikham's Ar.ibian. for wiiich 
he p. nil yj.^no. luit tiie horse w.is not a success, beinii 
(requentiv defeated, so that the Turi\ish and Spanish ship and breeding of race houses became one of the 



re t(i 
But MJihi'lher Arabjans or no[!: the iroyal mares were a 
most iniportant addition to tlie nngiisli stud and left a 
verv decided impress upon the. Hnglish thoroughbred. 

Thecpurtiers of |<ing Charlbs II. were not slow in fol- 
lowing the royal example, so that racing and the owner- 



Baibs and the nati\'e race hoises still ccntiiuied to be 
held in jireteieni e. From this lime on \'erv m.inv Ara- 
bian. Tinkish and Barbarv st.illions and mares were 
brought into Hnuland and their picigeiiv. with some in- 
fusion of the heavier built horses nati\'e to the country, 
resulted in a breed of animals possessing at once more 
graceful outline, more I'.ipui action .md superior bottom 



chosen amusements of the British aristocracy, and have 
thus remained without inleiluption down to the present 
day. 'Che Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of 
Charles, was a noted turfite and visited P. iris with a 
string of horses in answer to a challenge from Louis 
XIV., the Grand Monarque, the Englisli horses, on that 
occasion, sweeping everything before them in the races 



and endur.ince. Ih.m h.id been exhibited in anv llial h.id that were held at the French capital. It was under such 



preceded them. In support of the contention that the 
Arabian h.id less to do with the origin of the motlern 
Fnglish thoroughbred Ih.in is i-iopuhirlv belie\'eii. the list 
of the earliest imported horses found recorded in the 
Fiiiilish .Stud Bonk is called in esideiice. This list eives 



pationage, alike of royalty and nobility, that the ground 
was finally laid for the creation of a breed of animals that 
were to surpass anything in the world in speed and bot- 
tom. Nevertheless, even though vastly superior to the 
old running hack of previous generations, the thoi ough- 



the name ol twenty-live different animals, of which four bred race horse of that period was, as yet, only a poor 

were unquestioned Arabians, four were called Arabians, performer on the turf when compared with suCh later 

while the others were Turks and Barbs. giants as Flying Childers and Eclipse, who were soon to 

Race meetings were reij;ularlv held at Newmarket and make their appearance in the arena, 
elsewhere during the reign of King J.imes, and upon the Finishing touches toward the est.iblishment of the turf 

advent of Charles 1.. who ascended to the throne in 162s as a great national institution in Fngl.md were given 

and who was a more enthusiastic patron of the turl than during the successive reigns of William 111. :ind Qiieen 

any of his predecessors, the sport advanced still furthur Anne. William 111. and his Qiieen Mary were patrons 

in popular favor. Hven during the Commonwealth in- of racing and gave several plates to be run for, while 



terest in the ile\'elopmenl of the horse did out die out. 
The Lord I'lotector. Oliver Cromwell, established, a 
breeilini;' sliiil, aiiil one nf llu- slallidiis th.it he owned 
was the celebi.iled I'lace's While Turk, which shared 
with the Markh.im Ar.ibian the distinction of beins one 



Qiieen Anne ,ind her consort, Prince George of Den- 
mark, kept a tine stud. During this period the three 
gre.it l:astern stallions to whom the modern thorough- 
bred invariably traces back as the founders of his lineage 
first made their appearance. These were Byerly Turk, 



of llie lirsl L.isinn Imrses of celebrilv in Lngland. the Godolphin Arabian and the still more celebr.ited 

Among Ihebackslidings which the Puritan party ascribed Darley Arabian. Byerly Turk, the first of these three 

to Richard Cromwell, ^on ol the Protector, was his de- great sires, was in England previous to idSq. He was 

votion to horse racing. ridden by his owner. Captain Byerly, in King William's 

The restoration of the Stuarts in 1660, not only opened wars. He was the sire of Jig. the grandsire of Partner 

a new chapter in the evolution of the thoroughbred, but and the sire, four removes, of King Herod. The Godol- 

it also marks the beginning of the modern turf. Charles phin Arabian, who was foaled in 1704 and died in 17^^. 

II., the Merry Monarch, was an enthusiastic sportsman was imported into France from Barbary, a present from 

and made Newmarket one of his chosen resorts; he was the Emperor of Morocco to Louis XIV. Thence he came 

the first monarch who ever entered and ran horses in into possession of a coffee-house keeper in London, and 

his own name. More than this, indeed, he contributed subsequently was taken into the stud of Lord Godolphin, 

to the promotion of the kingly sport. His import.itions after whom he. was n.imed. He was the sire of Cade, 

were numerous and valuable, among them being several Regulus and other noted horses, and it was said of him. 

Eastern horses and mares, the latter, under the title of years ago, that "there is not a superior horse on the 

the royal mares, taking a very important place in the turf without a cross of the Godolphin Arabian." | r"--,,. 
earlier pedigrees that are set down in the Stud Book. It In the latter years of the reign of Queen Anne the most 

has been persistently held by many English turf writers famous Arabian of pure breed in the annals of the English 

that these royal mares were true Arabians. There has lurf was brought into the country. This, the third of 

never been any conclusive evidence upon this point, lor these three great sires, wiis the Kehilaii Ras-el Fedawi, 

,3 



THE AMERICAN THKF 



purchased tiv ;i the Aa:!.",>'-' by Mr nnley, mm Fr.j;nMi 
■ientU 111.111 u-sidinji in Aleppo, who sent the coll to his 
brother in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Known hence- 
forth as the Darley Arabian, he became the progenitor 
of Flying Childers, Almanzor, l)acda!ii.>, fcclipse, Snap. 
King Herod and others. The performances of Flying 
Childers formed the second epoch in linglish turf his- 
tory. From that motnent pure Kehilan blood was more 
eagerly sought than ever. Flying (Childers, a handsome 
chestnut horse, was foaled in 1715 out of Betty Leeds, a 
mare who is said to have produced no other offspring. 
He was the fastest horse that ever ran upon the New- 
market course, or anywhere else in Hngland, and never 
was beaten. The Godolphin Arabian took up the 
mantle of the Darley and between them they may be 
said to have recreated the English thoroughbred, nearly 
every important horse running on the turf in succeed- 
ing generations tracing its origin Irom these two. 

The get ol these three stallions, Byerly Turk, Godol- 
phin Arabian and Uarley Arabian, by mares boasting, in 
nearly all cases, of more or less Eastern blood, represents 
the consummation of the whole process ol evolution, and 
it only rem. lined to lix the breed by a judicious inter- 
mingling of their several progenies. Moreover, it may 
be remarked that subsequent attempts to introduce fresh 
Arabi.m blood into the thoroughbred race horse has 
never been attended by happy results, thoLigh breeders 
in England and America have spared neither expense nor 
labor in the effoit. In the generation immedi.itely suc- 
ceeding the Byerly Turk, Godolphin Ar.ibian and Darley 
Arabian, we llnd among their sons and daughters such 
names of importance, either as racers or in the stud, as 
Flying Childers, Jig, Lath, Cade, Regulus, Monica, 
Aleppo, Almanzor and others and .ire carried down to 
the three great sires of a later day, the immortal Eclipse 
and the hardly less celebrated King Herod and Malchem, 
Eclipse representing the choicest result of the Darley 
Arabian's line, as Herod does that of the Byerly Turk 
and Matchem of the Godolphin Arabian. When Flying 
Childers and Eclip.se appe.ired nothing ecjual to their 
speed had ever been seen in England or perh.ips even 
expected. It cannot be doubted that their wonderful 
attainments were the result of the new infusion of this 
best Anazeh blood from their immediate ancestors. 
Still, it is interesting and important to recognize that 
the infusion was an infusion only and the incomparable 
Childers and Eclipse themselves, although far more 
nearly Arabian than any of their predecessors, had'more 
than one strain of inferior blood. 

This brief review of the origin and history of the 
English thoroughbred has brought us down to the 
time when the Englishmen who were settling the 
colonies in America that were ultimately to become 
the United States, were beginning to give some con- 



sideration to the subject that was engaging the attention 
of their brethren whom they had left behind when they 
had come to establish new homes for themselves in the 
New World. Back of this, however, there is an inter- 
esting chapter relative to the lirst introduction of the 
horse into this country. Although (his has very little to 
do with the history ol the American thoroughbred, it 
may be well just to rec.ill the fact, as a matter of record, 
that the history of the horse in America goes back over 
four hundred ye.irs. (Columbus, when he came on his 
second voy.ige to this country in 149), brought several 
anim.ils lor the purpose of creating a stock. In 1S27 
Cabe(;a de Vaca brouiiht forty-two horses to Florida, 
which were the liist ever introduced into the United 
St.ites; these all perished or were killed. The next im- 
portation was that of De Soto, who brought a heavy 
force of c.ivalrv on the expedition that resulted in the 
discovery of the Mississippi River; when his party 
returned home their horses were abandoned and from 
them, it is generally believed, originated the wild horses 
of Texas and the prairies, which have always been 
strongly marked by the characteristics of Spanish blood. 
Many horses were brought over from Europe in tlie 
other early expeditions of the Spanish invaders and these 
also contributed to the hordes ol wild anim.ils th.it have 
long existed, both in South and North Americi. 

At a nuicli later d.ile. however, the history ol the 
American thoroughbred really begins, and it has no con- 
nection wh.itsoever with these e.iiliir sporadic importa- 
tions. As h.is been just pointed out. the English thor- 
OLighbred horse was in process of development, princi- 
pally during the seventeenth century and the e.ii ly part 
of the century following. The importation of Barbs 
and Arabians into Great Britain and their eiigraftment 
upon the horse of the old native stock began about the 
time that Virginia and New England were established, 
and it was not until these and their sister communities 
had attained to a commercial and political growth th.it 
entitled them to throw off the yoke of the mother coun- 
try that the modern race horse, in their old home .icross 
the sea, had achieved its perfection, or tli.it the English 
turf had risen to the plane of a n.itional institution. 

The (irst settlers of the American colonies brought a 
few domestic animals with them, and some of these, as 
might be expected, were English horses of pure blood. 
This was particularly true of those men of birth who, at 
home, had been attached to the cavalier party, and who 
brought with them an inherited and cultivated taste for 
the turf. A letter of one of the earlier settlers, who came 
to Virginia on the ship The Blessing, states that the 
company brought as part of the cargo, six mares and two 
horses. According to the report of the Governor and 
Council of the Virginia Colony in 1610. the colonists 
who had already been settled there a little more than 



14 



'■Ml'' 

three years, had in their possession several hdrsesl ;ind 
inares. Another compnnv of Viininia colonists broLiiihl 
with Ihi-m in iMi, alnnt,^ with other domestic i :ini- 
ntals. seventeen liorses and ni.iies. hista.nces mightlbe 
fmther muhiplied to show that the importation of hirsos 
l\v ail the, companies of colonists arriving in Virgini'a 
during the first half of the se\'enteenth centurv were Re- 
garded as matters of supreme importance, alike hv the 
settlers here and their agents in London. 

In 1020 the Virginia Company, of London, sent to its 
c ilnnv a shipment of twenty mares, and in 1(1^7 the e\- 
port.ition of mares from the coliin\' U'as prohibited, a 
leslriction that rem. lined in tui'ce lor more than a decade. 
.Some ot the eaily Virginia hoises c.ime to the colony by 
the way of Canada. The French, who settled Canada in 
i(-)()2, brought a few hoises with them. These animals 
were of Noi'm.in bieed, but did not attain to great value. 
save as working horses, in which respect, however, thev 
were exceedmgl\- useful to the colonists. Captain 
Argall, who made ;i r.iid upon the French settlement of 
Fort Koval in 101 1, (.airied back to Virginia most of 
these lirst I'reiich-Can.idian hoises. For half a century 
.liter the settlers ol C.in.id.i got along practically w ithout 
horses, lor it was not until loo^, when the M.irquis de 
Traci came over as \'icerov, that these .inimals in any 
considerable number were again brought to that part of 
Noith America. 

Coincident with the importation of horses into the 
.South came their arrival in the more northern colonies. 
It is believed that the lirst immigrants who came to New 
Netherland in 1025 brought several horses with them 
and Irom lime to lime alter that there were other impor- 
t.itions of like character. In April, 102^. Fieter Hvertsen 
Hultt contracted with the directors of the Dutch West 
India Comp.iny to ship to New Netherl.ind. lor the use 
ol the colonists, one hundred head o\' c.ittle, including 
stallions and mares. Thii'e vessels were prepared for this 
service, one lor horses, another for cows and .1 third to 
carry hay and other tood supplies. Considerable caretul 
attention seems to have been paid to the animals. Hac!^ 
had its own stall with a tloor of three feet of sand and, 
being well attended and pimided with plenty of water 
and forage, only two of the stoik died on the voyage 
over. They were less loitiin.ite .liter landing in the 
New World, for twenty of them were soon poisoned 
from feeding on rank weeds in the pastures. Those 
who survived were, hinvever. r.ipidlv added to by im- 
portation and by breeding and were generally distributed 
throughout (lie colony. Father jogues. writing in 1644, 
said thai every new scltlei in New Netherland received 
a loan of horses, cows, etc., and of provisions, which he 
repaid at his own convenience. From the same author- 
itv we learn th.it •'at Rensselaersu yck the people raise 
chiellv wheat and oats for beer and for their horses, of 



ANi^ 



mAv. 



-A 



whic]-| they had 'gt-^ht' stock.' 'Ji 1(1 1643, several cargoes 
of horses were brought Irom Cur^coa M'nl Azuba in the 
DutcliljWesl Indies, but the^ do rtotiseem to iiave flour- 
ished,: pbrhap.s, 4s has been sugigcStcd, on account of the 
chang^ (bf climate. 1 Th^ coloni.MS'w'erq anxious to be rid 
of the||Ti' arid, in ifijy, (saac Allerto|n, their agent, was 
authon;ibd to sell them to the Virginians. 

Corhelis Van Tienhoven wrote in 1650 that a young 
mare with her second or third foal was worth from one 
hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty florins, about 
sixty dollars, and a four or five-year old stallion onehun- 
dreii and thirty florins. At the same time, in New Eng- 
l.ind, a good mare sold for one hundred to orle hundred 
and twenty florins, and a stallion for one hundred florins, 
the animals being more numerous in that colony, A 
description of New Netherland by Adrian Vanderdonk, 
published in 1656, says: "The horses are of the proper 
breed for husbandry, having been brought from Utrecht 
for that purpose, and this stock has not diminished in 
size or c]uality. There are also horses of the English 
breed, which are lighter, not so good for agricultural 
use, but.fit for the saddle. These do not cost so much 
as the Netherlands breed and are easily obtained," 
Arnoldus Montanus, in his " Description of New Nether- 
land," published in 1 67 1, also speaks of the horses from 
Utrecht as being superior to the English stock. 

In 162c) horses were brought to the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony, but the early settlers in the Flymouth Colony do 
not seem to have had their animals with them, for Will- 
iam Bradford nowhere makes mention of them in his 
writings. Probably the Flymouth colonists obtained 
such as they needed from their immediate neighbors of 
the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The first general letter, 
written in 1029 by the Governor and Deputy Governor 
of New England for the plantation of Massachusetts Bay, 
provides that "all the cattle, including horses and rnares 
shipped to tile cOlony, shall be equally divided between 
the shipper and the company." Soon after that date six 
vessels were despatched to the colony, on*- , !' . v.ich, 
T"hc Lyons Whelp, brought over ten mares .ind horses. 
A second letter from the company in London to Gover- 
nor Endicott advises him regarding the care of the cattle, 
especially the mares, and Mr. White, minister, recom- 
mends that William Doilge, " a skilful and painful hus- 
bandman, be appointed to the charge of a team of 
horses," 

When Governor John Winthrop came to the colony 
on the ship Arabella, in i6w, he brought with him si.xty 
horses, along with many cattle. In the same year the 
Mayllower and the Whale arrived in (^harlestown, with 
most of their live stock cargo dead, however, including 
a mare and a horse belonging to Winthrop, although, as 
he writes in his journal, " Some stone horses came over 
in good plight. ' During the next few years there were 



I'llE .\MI':i>:lCAN TURF. 



other impoilMtioiis intu tlu' MassMcliusotts colonii's ;iiui 
ill it)3s two Dutch sliips lioiii the 'li-xcl ;u rived in S;iiLiii 
bringing twenty-seven Flanders mares and three horses, 
tile Ibrnier valued at ihiilv-roiir pounds each. From 
this time forward horses began to increase in all the 
New Hngland colonies and soon became objects of con- 
siderable traffic, being especially in demand by the. 
Dutch in New Amsterdam and also by the jieopie of the 
West Indies. When the Reverend Thom.is Hooker went 
into the wilderness to found the city of Hartford, on the 
banks of the Connecticut River, he was c.irrietl in a horse 
litter and his company had other horses with them. 
Among tho.se who early turned their attention to' raising 
horses was Dr. John Clarke, of Boston, who intro- 
duced the breed long known in that part of the country 
by his name. He died in 1664, leaving a large stock of 
horses, mares and colts in Massachusetts .ind Plymouth. 

In the first instance nearly all these original equine 
emigrants were unquestionably working animals of a 
nondescript character, probably below the average of the 
nags that in the Old Hngland of those days did service 
in agriculture or for ordinary purposes of transporting 
goods or travelers. It is, indeed, supposed that the 
w.mts of the colonists in this respect were in pail sup- 
plied from the Spanish possessions in South and Central 
America, where the Moorish type of horses had been 
domesticated for several generations before the ancestors 
of the American people became permanently established 
on this side of the Atlantic. There is, however, little 
evidence on this point, and the question is in itself not 
important. 

As the princifiles of scieiititic breedmg became better 
known in the Old World, and as it was realized there 
that the horse of high degree surpassed his plebian fel- 
lows in speed, endurance and general usefulness, a bet- 
ter class of animals seems to have found its way to the 
colonies. References to such facts are, however, scat- 
tering, and h.ive little bearing upon the subject of this 
inquiry. It w.is nol until a comparatively later period 
that attention was paid in this country to the highest 
type of horses, and then they were derived directly from 
the running turf of Hngland itself. In fact until the 
eighteenth ceiiturv was well advanced, we discover no 
firm ground upon which to stand in the consideration of, 
either, the condition of horsellesh in the colonies or the 
existence of racing, except of the most sporadic and 
primitive character. 

Notwithstanding the early introduction of hordes into 
New England the Puritans who settled in that part of the 
country, were, of course, on leligioiis principles, aveise 
to all kinds of sports or anything savoring of indulgence 
or recreation. They regarded horse racing with particu- 
lar disl.ivor because it was a pastime and puisuit spe- 
cially identified in their minds with the kings and princes 



of the Slu.irt tlvnastv. .ind Ihe cavalier nobilily and gen- 
tly ol the iiiolluT ciiuiitry. vi'ilh whom they had been 
so long at issue, and to escape from whom they had 
emigrated to Aiiieric.i. The early sl.iliiles of all the 
New Hngland colonies imposed severe penalties upon 
•' horse coursing." In 177.S. in Connecticut, the law 
prohibited horse racing uiidei the pen, illy ol loileiluie ol 
the horse and a tine of forty shillings. At the same 
time, however, it appears that racing was indulged in 
to a considerable extent in Rhode Island as early as the 
opening years of the centLiry. Silver plate prizes were 
run for, ■^\\d many of these iiii'iiientos of the ancient 
sport are preserved to this d.iy. Before the middle ol 
the century, however, racing and the betting coincident 
therewith had attained to such importance that the in- 
herent religious spirit of the community protested against 
them, so that in 1740, the General (]ourt of that colony 
prohibited racing under a penally of the forfeiture of the 
horse and a line of one hundred dollars. Similar enact- 
ments to those passed in (^.omiecticut and Rhode Island 
were also decreed in the other New Hngland colonies. 

It may be obseryed, however strange though this 
ni.iy seem under all the circumstances, that the only 
distinct breed prodLiced in America during the colonial 
period was the Narragansett pacer, an aiiim.il so named 
from Its natural action and famous for speed and value 
before those characteristics pertained to any other laiiiily 
ol horses ill the United States. It is believed tli.il the 
Narragansett p.icer was derived from some i>l the liiig- 
lish pacers that were among the horses early imported 
into the Massachusetts C(_>loiiy. These weie unquestion- 
ably horses of good blood, with perhaps str.iins ol the 
thoroughbred in them, aiul by careful selectiiij^ .and 
breeding attained to m.irked distinction fur many excel- 
lent qualities; but their le.il origin h.is always remained, 
to a great extent, mythical and uncertain. They were 
raised largely for export to Barbadoes and the other 
islands of the West Indies, and were also in demand 
from the other colonies. 1-or lack of scientilic care this 
interesting class of animals died out even before the be- 
ginning of the present century. Later on New Hngl.ind 
also yielded the celebrated Morgan strain, so useful in 
the creation of the American trotting horse, in which 
case a combination of the Canadian pony with the com- 
mon stock used in Vermont is apparently responsible for 
the result. 

But apart from these accidental incidences. New Hng- 
l.ind has played little part in the development of the 
horse 111 this country. The inherited Puritanism of that 
section has, generally speaking, held everylhing that 
pert. lined to llie track in profound ahliuiieiice. While 
in other parts ol the United States, especially during the 
present century, the "sport of kings" has Inlly est.ib- 
lished itself, 111 New Imghiiul there h.is been, coni- 



16 



TriF. 



4 Mm; 



p:ir;itively spe.iking. Diily modcrale intiMcst manifested 
ill the turl'. Theiv is not, nor ever has been, a raci; 
course of any pretension in that part ol the country, 
aiui vet spoiMdic instances of popular devotion to the 
track h.ive not been infrequent. Reference has already 
been made to e.iilv horse lacins; in Rhode isi.ind. In a' 
work publisiied in DuiiHn in 17^^. entitled. ■• Aiiieiica 
Dissected," the Reverend James McSparren. who w.is 
sent out as an Hpiscopal missionais' to Rhode Island in 
1721 bv the London Society for the Propagation of the 
Gospel in Foreign Parts, has much to sav concerning the 
Narragansett pacers, and in a note to a later edition of 
this interesting work, its editor speaks of the eaiiy races 
in these terms: 

" I.ittle Neck Beach in South Kiiii^ston. of one mile 
in length, w.is the r.ice course. A sihei' t.uik.u'd w;is 
the prize, and high bets were otherwise made on speed. 
Some of these prixe tankaids were remaining a few 
years ago." Another authority, speaking on the same 
subject, says that contests on the turf between the racing 
sportsmen of Narrag.anseti and Virgini.i were frequent 
in the e.u'lv colonial d.ivs. the matches takuig place al- 
ternately in each section, followed by a return visit to 
the other, Strangelv enough, too. coming down to 
later times, we find .m early attempt at systematic racinsj; 
under exact regulations in Eastern Massachusetts. In 
The Columbian Centinel and Massachusetts Federalist 
the following .idvertisement appeared in August, iSoi : 

"SPORTING— A HOLIDAY FOR THE INHUSTRIOUS LABORER. 

"The Heats or races will be run, for the lirst time in 
New England, September 1 next, in the park of Mi'. 
Joel Herriman, one and a half miles north of Haverhill 
Bridge. There will be a stage erected on the centre of 
the ground for the accommodation of the Ladies who 
may wish to be spectators; also boxes at e.icli corner ol 
said stage, hung upon swivels, large enough for ,1 Gen- 
tleman and Ladv. If is expected that these boxes will 
be occupii'd by p.nlicul.ir application. The purse to be 
run for will be §so ; distance round the course, one 
mile ; any one horse distancing the whole, first or 
Second He.it, will be entitled to the pLirse, otherwise 
the foremost horse the last Heat. Any horse losing the 
distance will be debarred running again; the distance 
pole will be twenty yards from the winning pole, liii- 
trance money for each horse. $2. will be run lor the next 
day, by what is called the scrub race; the sweepstakes 
or horse that wins the purse will be excluded. .Anv 
Cientleman wishing to enter a horse for said Heat will 
have an oppoitunitv any time before the List d.iy ol this 
month by applying to James Smiley or William Sawyer, 
living near said ground. Any horse entered for s.iid 
Heats, at the pole, u'ill be double price. The horses 
must be ujion the spot precisely at 2 o'clock p. m. Any 



I->||. 1,::,. [ , 

;h|ijise tiik|lig|iidval1tag^ of said poles \yhen running the 
racp mustijtake a retrograde step ai*ouncl;the poles again. 
This piece of amusement, although very novel in this 
part of tlVe country, has been long practiced in Europe 
and the l,Southern Stjites. ' OurijuStly esteemed and 
much adiiiired Washington made it' a constant rule to 
enter for the Heats one or more horses every year, and 
oftentimes made the purse himself, and always attended 
in person when he could make it convenient. He fre- 
quently invited Gentlemen and Ladies of the first families 
in order to encourage the breed of horses." 

There are some things both unique and interesting in 
this announcement. The reL'rence to the Father of his 
Country as a patron of the turf was evidently necessary 
to persuade the strict New Englanders of the upright 
ch.ir.icter of the sport, but the plea in favor of racing to 
encourage the breed of horses has a very modern sound. 
A grand .stand in the centre of a race course, as described 
in this advertisement, would be a novelty in these days, 
and yet it undoubtedly had its advantages tor those who 
would like to see a contest frOin start to finish. The 
boxes or swivels enabled their occupattts to turn in any 
.direction; so as to follow the horses in the circuit of the 
track without moving from their seats. 

The tli;st regular racing in this country, of which we 
have any historical account, was not in New England, 
however. It dated from 166s, when Governor Richard 
Nicolls, the first English Governor of the colony of New 
Netherland, inaugurated a race course at Hemp.stead 
Plains, Long island. The Governor named this course 
Newmarket, after the famous English course, and offered 
a plate to be run for. In 1669. Governor Lovelace 
ordered the justices of Hempstead to receive subscrip- 
tions from all such as were disposed to run for a crown 
of silver or value thereof in good wheat, "for the pur- 
pose of improving and encouraging good breed of 
J horses." For several years under Governor Nicolls and 
his successors there were spring and autumn meetings 
at this course, and generous prizes were offered. The 
competing horses were of Dutch stock, for no English 
thoroughbreds had been imported at that time. They 
c.irried ten stone weight, and ran two-mile distances. 
The opening of the course on Hempstead Plains awak- 
ened such an interest that other courses were con- 
structed in the neighborhood of New York, and racing 
soon became the popular sport of the period. 

Il is, however, in the Southern colonies that we find 
the real beginning of racing in America, and the first 
systematic and persistent attempts to improve the 
ch.iracter of horses by importing and breeding from rep- 
resentatives of the aristocratic thoroughbred. Although 
in the North, specially in New York and New Jersey, 
there v\'as, as we have seen, some early interest in the 
turf, generally speaking, the South and Southwest became 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

the lirst re:.l home of the race horse in this countiy, and was a feature in the life of all the principal towns of the 

it was in those re-ions that the racer of hi-hest type in colonies for some years pievious to 17SU. In that early 

America was gradually and delinitely developed. There period quarter racm- was most m vogLie, and a traveler 

were some especially strong reasons for the existence of m that section of the country, speakmg ol this .sport, 

this condition of affairs. The original settlers of the belore ihe Revolutionary War. said : "In the southern 

.Southern colonies were, principally, men of good Eng- p.irl of the colony and m North (,.,rol.na they are much 

l.sh hirlh, representatives of the landed gentry of the attached to auarler Racing, which is always a m.itch 

mother country. At home they had been attached to between two horses to run one-iiuarter ol a mile, 

the cav.iher party, and, having been born to wealth, straight out. being merely an exertion ol speed; ,ind 

were devoted to the chase and tournament and inclined they have a breed that perform it with astonishing 

to all kinds of lield sports. The turf was just springing velocity, beating every other for that dist.mce with great 

into prominence when they were leaving Hngland, and ease, but they have no bottom. However, 1 am confi- 

they naturally brought an interest in it with them. That dent, that there is not a horse in tngland, nor. perhaps, 

part of the country where they settled was soon found in the whole world, that can excel them in rapid speed; 

to be peculiarly adapted in climate, soil and productions and these, likewise, make excellent s.iddle horses for 

to the raising and breeding of thoroughbreds. Further- the road." 

more, the mild chmatc of the .South was not only a An advertisement ili.it .ippe. nvd 111 1 lu' Virginia 

strong incentive to outdoor sports of every description, Gazette of J. muary 11, 17^4. gives as clear .in idea as it 

but also afforded them every possible opportunity for is possible to secure from .my source of the general char- 

the indulgence of their tastes in this direction. acter of the racing events of that time. This interesting 

The possession of large estates cultivated by slaves old document is well worth presentation in its entirety. 
>Mve the colonists abundant leisure, and the profits ol It read as follows: •• 1 his is to give notice that there will 
tobacco growing, which soon became the principal in- be run for at Mr. Jose|^li Se.iwall's, in Gloucester County, 
dustry of the South, enabled the owners of these planta- on the lirst Tuesd.iy in April next, a Purse of I'hirty 
tations to indulge in a style of living modeled on the Pistoles, by any ht>rse. mare or gelding: all sized horses 
generous scale of that of country gentlemen in Enpl:"-'d. to carry 140 pounds and Callow. lys to be allowed yycight 
B(i "._, '""^ii the outset, as they have ever since continued for inches, to p.iy one Pistole eiitr.ince. it a subscriber, 
to be, an essentially .igricLiltural people, the raising of and two if not. .ind ilie entrance money lo go to the 
stock, including horses, n.itLirally engaged a considerable second horse, etc. .\n^\ 011 the d.iy lollowing. on the 
part of their attention purely as a nv'tter of business, same course, theic will be .1 S.iddle, HiIlIIc .ind llousing. 
Fox hunting was introduced into Virginia at an early of ti\e pounds wilue. to be run for by any horse, mare 
date, and the records of the colony contain abundant or gelding that never won a prize of that vakie, four 
evidence showing that racing, although, truth to tell, of miles, bet'oie. F.ich horse lo p.iy live shillings eiitiMiice. 
a somewhat primitive and informal kind, was also a and that to go to the horse that comes in second. And 
leading amusement. So far as can be judged from the on the day lollowing there is to be run for. by horses 
reports that have come down to us from that time, these not exceeding thirteen hands, a hunting s.iddle, bridle 
contests were, to a considerable extent, of what may be and whip. Fach horse to jxiy two shillings and sixjience 
termed a "scrub character," like the matches that are so at enti.ince, to be given to the horse th.il comes in see- 
often made in rural districts all the world over. Still, ond. Happy is he that can get the highest rider." 
the fact that the sport was indulged in, even to a limited The first record ol tlu' import. itioii ol ,1 thoroughbred 
extent .iiul in an imperfect way, as early as the middle horse into American colonies w.is in 17^0, when .1 
of the seventeenth century, is a signilicaiit fact, and it is stallion called Bully Rock was brought into Virginia. 
not strange to find that the love of horses and a knowl- He boasted of royal equine blood, having been loaled in 
edge of their cap.ibilities among these pioneer colonists 1718 by the Uarley Arabian, out of a mare by the Bverly 
should early have given birth to a desire for the improve- Turk, grandam by the Lister Turk and great-gr.nuhim a 
ment of the breed. The prizes for these early races were royal mare. Some ten years later .1 famous brood mare 
generally several hundred pounds of tobacco, a product named Bonnie Lass by the Duke ol Bolton's bay Bolton, 
that was then the staple medium of exchange, jn some put of a daughter of the Darley Ar.ibi.in, w.is also 
instances, as appears from old records, the wager of the brought to Virgim.i. 1 his is believed to be the lirst 
race was that both horses should become the property instance of an imported thoroughbred m.uv. Before the 
of the winner. year 1708 a noted stallion n. lined Bashaw was kept on 

Racing of a more formal character began to develop Long Island. He c.ime from the stables of the Fmpeior 

in the South, particularly in Virginia and Maryland, in of Morocco, 
the early years of the eighteenth century. The sport A si, illioii th.it .ilt.mied to fame shortly .ilter tlie middle 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



of the eighteenth century was Lindsay's Arabian, a big 
gray horse. Many romantic stories were told concerning 
him. It was said that he was a Barb and was a present 
to the commander of a British man-of-war from one o( 
the Sultans of Barbary. Being tai<en to South America, 
he met with an accident, but was afterward brought to 
Connecticut by the captain of an American trading ves- 
sel, to whom he had been given by his former owner. 
Colonel Wyllys, of Hartford, who owned him in 1770, 
called him Ranger, and he was described as "a fine 
English stallion of the Barbary breed, bred iri England." 
The horse subsequently passed into the hands of Captain 
Lindsay, of Maryland, from whom he received the name 
of Lindsay's Arabian. Another imported stallion who 
left his imprint particularly on the stock of Virginia was 
Jolly Roger, by Roundhead, by Flying Childers, who 
was foaled in 1741 and brought to this country by Mr. 
(>addock, dying in Greenville County, Va., in 1772 at 
thirty-one years of age. He left many descendants of 
remarkable speed for that day. Janus, by Old Janus, the 
latter being a son of the Darley Arabian, was another of 
our early importations, and did good service in the stud. 
Practically the importation of English race horses did 
not begin until about the middle of the century that is 
here under consideration. The records bearing upon 
this matter are exceedingly scant and unsatisfactory,-. and 
in many respects altogether unreliable. Mr. John H. 
Wallace, the accomplished turf writer) has, perhaps, 
given more attention to the subject than any other man 
in the United States, and has dug out of the old musty 
records many interesting facts. In his valuable work, 
"The Horse of America," Mr. Wallace says: "From 
about 1750 to 1770 seems to have been a period of great 
prosperity in Virginia, and, notwithstanding the general 
improvidence of the times, many of the large land- 
holders and planters were getting rich from their fine 
crops of tobacco and their negroes. This prosperity 
manifested itself strongly in the direction of the popular 
sport of horse racing and improving the size, quality and 
fleetness of the running horse. * * * * The action 
of one planter stirred up half a dozen others who felt 
they could not afford to be behind in the matter of 
improvement, but more especially that they could not 
afford to be behind in the finish at the fall and spring 
race meetings of the future. These importations went 
on continuously for about twelve years, and until they 
were interrupted by the excited relations and feelings 
between the colonies and the mother country and the 
preparations for the War of the Revolution, which was 
then imminent. After the close of the Revolution a per- 
fect avalanche of race horses was poured upon us. some 
of which were good, but a great majority of them were 
never heard of after their arrival on the race course or 
elsewhere." 



Mr. Wallace records the names of six horses that were 
brought over within a year or two after 17S0, Monkey, 
Traveller, Dabster, Childers, Badger and Janus, and adds 
that others might be named, although some, at least, are 
mythical. He thinks that the whole number imported 
into all the colonies before the War of the Revolution 
counts up to about fifty, some of these being practicallv 
unknown, while a few of them are wholly fictitious. 
During the quarter of a century immediately preceding 
the Revolution not more than twenty mares of English 
race horse blood were imported. Monkey, who was 
imported in 1747, when twenty-two years old, was by 
the Lonsdale bay Arabian, dam by Curwen's bay Barb, 
daughter of the Byerly Turk and a royal mare. Make- 
less, another good horse that came about this time, was 
by Oglethorpe Arab out of Trumpet's dam. 

The pedigrees of many of these early horses have been 
lost, and as they are now given, are full of errors and 
falsifications, while the history of others is based upon 
nothing more trustworthy than oral tradition. Among 
those of whom we have traditions as early importations 
were Aristotle, said to be by the Cullen Arabian ; Bolton, 
by Shock, dam by Partner; Childers, said to have been 
imported into Virginia in 1771, by Blaze, son of Flying 
Childers, dafn by Fox; Cub, foaled in 1739 by Fox, dam 
by Warlock Galloway, out of Curwen's Bay Barb; 
Othello, foaled in 1743, by Crab out of Miss Slammerkin; 
Silver-Eye, by the Cullen Arabian, dam by Curwen's 
Bay Barb. In 1751, came Colonel B. Tasker's Selima, 
by the Godolphin Arabian, said to have been an own 
sister to Babraham. She was bought of the Marquis of 
Granby on the express condition that she should be ex- 
ported. In 17^2, she won the first great race on record, 
at Gloucester, Va., beating Colonel Byrd's renowned 
Try-All and Colonel Tayloe's imported Jenny Cameron 
and others, four miles for a purse of 500 pistoles. In 
1771, and several years following, a distinguished Mary- 
land mare was Colonel Lloyd's imported Nancy Bywell, 
by Matchem. She beat all competitors, among them 
such famous horses as Selim, Apollo, Brittania, Wild- 
air and Regulus. General Spottiswoode's Apollo, by 
Fearnought, was beaten only by her, but in Virginia he 
turned the tables and twice defeated his previously vic- 
torious competitor. , 

Moreton's Traveller was imported in 1754. His pedi- 
gree has always been in much dispute, but he was one 
of the most celebrated stallions of Virginia in the last 
century. The best authorities generally agree that he 
was foaled about 1748, being the son of Partner, a 
grandson of the Byerly Turk and grandsire of King 
Herod. Traveller was one of the most valuable early 
stallions in America, and was the sire to many celebrated 
racers, including Yorick, Try-All, Silver Legs, Barwell's 
Traveller and Lloyd's Traveller. Janus was imported by 



19 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Mordecai Booth in 1752, and his best son was Medoc's 
Ceier. Tom Jones was imported in 175s; Bolton by 
Mr. Lightfoot in 1765; Childers by Colonel John Tayloe 
in 1769; Dottrel by IVlr. Lee in 1769, and Sterling by 
Mr. Evans in 1768. Besides the importations of brood 
mares by the above-named gentlemen, we find IVlr. 
Nelson's Blossom, Mr. Carter Braxton's Kitty Fisher, 
Colonel William Byrd's Calista, and other mares im- 
ported by Messrs. Peter Randolph, John Page, John 
Bland and others. 

it is, however, impossible to set forth, more than par- 
tially, a record of all the horses of high descent that 
were imported into the United States in this period, 
down to the close of the eighteenth century. Some of 
these importations were of a particularly interesting 
character and became historically important. Previous 
to 1753, the celebrated Spark came hither. He was 
owned by Governor Benjamin Ogle, of Maryland, to 
whom he had been presented by Lord Baltimore, who re- 
ceived him as a gift from the Prince of Wales, father to 
King George 111. Spark was by Honeycomb Punch, 
out of Wilkes' Old Hautboy mare, and the latter horse 
was also impoited into Virginia by Colonel Colville and 
known in this country as Miss Colville. Old Hautboy 
was a son of the D'Arcy White Turk, out of one of the 
royal mares of King Charles II. Governor Ogle also im- 
ported Queen Mab by Musgrove's Grey Arabian. About 
1750, Colonel Tasker, of Maryland, imported the cele- 
brated English mare, Selima, a daughter of the Godol- 
phin Arabian. She was one of the most distinguished 
mares that ever ran in America, and through Rocking- 
ham, Marc Antony and many others of her descendants 
was the progenitrix of some of the best and most fash- 
ionable blood in America. 

About this time, or a little earlier, there were imported 
into Virginia Routh's Crab, by Old Crab, dam by Coun- 
sellor, daughter of Coneyskins and also Monkey by the 
Lonsdale Bay Arabian, dam by Curwen's Bay Barb, 
daughter of the Byerly Turk and a royal mare. Monkey 
was twenty-two years old when imported, but left good 
stock. To these and a few other notable horses that 
were early imported with the mares, Selima, Queen 
Mab, Jenny Cameron, Kitty Fisher, Miss Colville and 
others, may be traced all, or almost all, the families of 
running horses now existing in the United States to a 
greater or less degree and with nearly as much certainty 
as the English champions of the olden day may be fol- 
lowed up to imported Arab and Barb on both sides. 
Many of the earliest Virginia and Maryland importations, 
it has been pointed out, ran through Partner on the one 
hand, to Spanker and Spanker's dam, the white and yel- 
low D'Arcy Turks, the Selaby Turk, and either the old 
Vintner or the Layton Violet Barb mares; and, on the 
other hand, to the Godolphin Arabian through Babra- 



ham, Juniper, Dormouse and others. In this connection 
it is also interesting to note that the celebrated Sir 
Archy of later date ran back through his sire into pre- 
cisely the same strain of Partner blood, and through his 
grandam into the same Babraham and Godolphin Ara- 
bian strain. 

In New York, two particularly celebrated horses were 
imported as early as 1764 by Colonel de Lancey. These 
were Wildair by Cade and Lath by Shepherd's Crab. 
Colonel De Lancey also imported the Cub Mare. Both 
Wildair and Lath greatly distinguished themselves as 
sires, the former being considered so valuable that he 
was reimported to England. Flimnap, Sweeper and 
Toby were imported into the Carolinas between the 
years 1760 and 1770. The former was a grandson, on 
both sides, 01 the Godolphm Arabian, while both 
Sweeper and Toby, the latter being imported by Colo- 
nel William Alston, of North Carolina, traced to the 
same piogenitor. Although Pennsylvania has never 
been conspicuous for the interest that its people have 
taken in the turf, two notable hoises were imported into 
that State about this time. One of them, known as 
as Grey Northumberland, and also called Irish Grey, is 
said to have been bred by Lord Mazarine. The pedi- 
gree of the other, Old England, is also unknown, but he 
is supposed to have been by Old England, a son of the 
Godolphin Arabian. One of the oldest American time 
races on record was run in 1767 in Philadelphia between 
these two horses and a bay horse named Selim and 
another named Granby. The first heat was run in 8 
minutes, 2 seconds, Selim winning from Old England by 
a single length. In the second heat, after running three 
times round, close to the heels of Selim, Old England 
flew the course. It would appear, according to the 
records of this race in a Philadelphia newspaper of that 
date, that, even before that time, there were regular 
meetings in Philadelphia, it being stated that this race 
was run "for the gentlemen's subscription purse of 100 
guineas." 

The American Revolution once ended, there was a 
marked revival of interest in racing and in the thorough- 
bred horse which was not confined to the South, as had 
been largely the case during the colonial epoch. Many 
causes combined to produce this result. The people, 
freed from foreign domination, threw themselves into 
business activity, so that in the years succeeding the 
peace with the mother country large fortunes were 
accumulated and the Northern seaboard cities be- 
came centres of social life on a much more extended 
scale, one of the manifestations of which was an in- 
creased interest in sports of all kinds. At the same 
time the turf in England had at last emerged from its 
unsettled state and assumed the position which it has 
ever since occupied in the estimation of her people. 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



Heretofore, the ground in regard to the complete an- 
cestry of many of the horses which have made the fame 
of the turf, either in England or America, wasve'ry un- 
certain. In 1 79 1, however, the Stud Book was compiled. 
Thenceforth horse breeding was rescued from being a hap- 
hazard pursuit and reduced to a scientific basis, in which 
the combination of the powers of animals of known de- 
scent and approximately well defined qualities could be 
relied upon to produce certain results in their descend- 
ants. 

iMoreover, it had become well recognized by this time 
that the improvement of the breed of horses was one of 
the most valuable benefits that could be conferred upon 
a country, and that the infusion of thoroughbred blood 
among the mass of animab was, beyond all doubt, the 
best method of accomplishing such a desirable result. 
Although there might be complaint in some quarters as 
to the supposed evils, moral or otherwise, of the turf it, 
and it alone, furnished the incentives, either sentimental 
or substantial, that would induce men of wealth and in- 
telligence to devote their efforts to improving the char- 
acter and capabilities of horseflesh. To a people as 
quick-witted as Americans these arguments appealed 
with peculiar force, and in the period immediately suc- 
ceeding the Revolution we find a great and marked re- 
vival of interest in horses and racing, although the turf 
had not as yet gained the importance which it was 
presently to assume. 

Soon the number of thoroughbreds in this countrv, 
both imported and of native breeding, began to exhibit 
a decided increase. Many of these animals were of 
worthy origin, and showed themselves capable of cred- 
itable achievements, while they have handed down their 
names and reputations through long lines of descendants 
even to the present day. Others were less distinguished, 
but still are eminently worthy of position on the rolls as 
contributing no small part to the development of the 
early American turf Several famous imported stallions 
from whom have been derived many important Ameri- 
can families came in these years. Earliest among them 
was Medley, who was imported into Virginia in 1783 
and was one of the best sires ever brought into this 
country, his descendants including Atalanta, Bel Air, 
GrayDiomed, Calypso, Gray Medley, Lamplighter, Boxer, 
Pandora, Quicksilver, Virginia and others, all of whom 
were good racers and in their turn getters of racers. 
Medley was by Gimcrack, dam Arminda by Snap, out 
of Miss Cleveland by Regulus. His great-great-grandam 
was by Bartlett's Childers. His sire was by Cripple, out 
of Miss Elliott by Grisewood's Partner, and Cripple was 
by the Godolphin Arabian, out of Blossom by Crab. 

Diomed, who was foaled in 1777 and imported into 
Virginia in 1798, has been called the greatest sire of the 
greatest winner getters ever brought into this country. 

21 



It is only necessary to mention among his descendants 
Duroc, Florizel. Gracchus, Gallatin. Hampton, King 
Herod, Potomac, Sir Archy, Truxton, Boston, Fashion, 
Virginius, Peacemaker, Primrose, Dinwiddle and others, 
without going further on the list, to show the high place 
to which he is entitled as a progenitor of great American 
racers. This famous stallion was by Florizel, dam by 
Spectator, grandam by Blank and great-grandam by 
Childers. Florizel was by Herod, dam by Cygnet, and 
Herod was by Tartar out of Cypron, Tartar going back 
to jig, Byerly Turk and a royal mare and Cypron being 
the great-great-granddaughter of the Darley Arabian. 
Diomed came to this country from the stables of Sir 
Charles Dunbury. He will remain forever famous as the 
first winner of the Blue Ribbon of the turf, having van- 
quished all his rivals at the first Derby race at Epsom in 
1780. He was twenty-two years old when he was 
brought to the United States, and his blood, particularly 
through his son. Sir Archy, whose dam was also im- 
ported, was a most valuable element in our old Ameri- 
can stock. 

Another great stallion imported into Virginia before 
the close of the century was Bedford, who was foaled in 
179^, a son of Dungannon, dam Fairv by Highflyer, 
and in the sixth generation from Byerly Turk on the side 
of his dam. His sire, Dungannon, was by the famous 
Eclipse, out of Aspasia by Herod, his great-great- 
grandam, Daphne, being by the Godolphin Arabian. 
Bedford was a great stallion and there has been scarcely 
a family of horses in the Southern States that has not in 
some degree, more or less, partaken of his blood. He 
was a rich bay, but a peculiar elevation on his rump that 
amounted almost to a deformity detracted from his ap- 
pearance. This mark was known as the Bedford hump 
and was transmitted to his posterity, so that such cele- 
brated winners as American Eclipse, Black Maria, Shark, 
Boston, Argyle and others, were distinguished by it. 
Among the children of Bedford were Aeolus, Cup-bearer, 
Fairy, Lady Bedford, Nancy Air, Shylock, Lottery and 
others. Another importation into Virginia in this early 
period was Shark by Marske. out of the Snap mare, 
Marske, who was also the sire of Eclipse, being by 
Squirt, dam by Foxcub. Squirt was by Bartlett's 
Childers, dam by Snake. On the side of his dam 
Shark was descended from Marlborough, who was by 
the Godolphin Arabian. The most distinguished prog- 
eny of Shark were Opossum, Virago, Americus, Black 
Maria, Annette and others. 

Contemporaneous with Diomed was Gabriel, who was 
foaled in 1700 and imported into Virginia. He was got 
by Dorimant, his dam being a Snap mare. Dorimant 
was by Otho out of a Babraham mare. Otho was by 
Moses, dam Miss Vernon by Cade, grandam by Partner 
and in the eighth generation from Place's White Turk. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Moses was out of a Portland Arabian dam. Gabriel 
became famous for the splendor of his get and their great 
performances. He got Oscar, Post-boy and others, the 
former, out of a dam by imported Medley, being his 
most celebrated son. Other early importations were 
Saltram, winner of the Derby of 1783, who was a son of 
Eclipse and also Sir Harry, the Derby winner of 1798. 
whose sire was the famous Sir Peter Teazle by Highflyer, 
by King Herod. Other Derby winners who came over 
during this same period were John Bull (1792), Spread 
Eagle (1795), and Archduke (1799). At the same time 
a large number of brood mares of the most approved 
strains were brought to American studs, and with the 
female descendants of the early and subsequent importa- 
tions furnished material on which the skilful breeder 
was able to display his aptitude in selection with the 
most gratifying results. In the long list of champions of 
this period, besides those that have already been 
enumerated, were Celer, Yorick, Try-All, Marc Antony, 
Regulus, Flag of Truce, Goode's Brimmer, Butler's 
Virginia Nell, Cincinnatus, Leviathan, Collector, 
Amanda, Hickory, Maid of the Oaks and Pacolet. 

The most famous progenitor of Virginia race horses in 
the early colonial epoch was Fearnought, who was im- 
ported about 1764, and is regarded as the Godolphin 
Arabian of America. He was a handsome bay, 15 
hands, 2^2. inches high, and was foaled in 17,7. His 
sire was Regulus, by the Godolphin Barb, out of the dam 
Grey Robinson, by the Bald Galloway, his grandam 
being by Snake, out of Old Wilkes' Hautboy mare. The 
dam of Fearnought was out of Silvertail. by Whitenose, 
his grandam by Rattle, his great-grandam by the Darley 
Arabian, and his great-great-grandam the Old Child 
mare by Sir Thomas Gresley's Arabian. In Fearnought 
was the highest and purest blood of England. His 
progeny were of uncommon figure and contributed addi- 
tional size and bottom to the American race horse. Im- 
portations previous to his time had already given to the 
American turf many mares of excellent quality. Janus and 
Jolly Roger particularly had left many good descendants, 
and with them, and those derived from other imported 
stallions and mares,- he was not called upon to engraft 
his aristocratic blood on that of unknown or unworthy 
dams. It may, in fact, be said that the records only par- 
tially give the names of the large number of other thor- 
oughbred mares and stallions that were imported during 
the period in question, and that constituted a substantial 
foundation for the Fearnought family. 

It is unquestioned that from the date of Fearnought's 
appearance his progeny firmly established a fashion not 
only of speed but of endurance as well, that put all animals 
of inferior breeding at a decided disadvantage. He was 
decidedly superior as a sire to anv previous representa- 
tives of thoroughbred blood that had as yet come to Amer- 



ica, and his get proved a better class of horses than Virginia 
or the Southern colonies in general possessed. Under the 
stimulus of his reputation and that of other stallions who 
came soon after his arrival here, breeding grew to be a 
favorite occupation of the wealthy gentlefolk of Virginia 
and other Southern States. A little earlier than this date, 
quarter-mile races, which had generally prevailed up to 
that time, began to be abandoned for trials at longer dis- 
tances, which the superior bottom of the newer horses 
enabled them to accomplish. As we have already seen, 
it was in 1752 that Colonel Tasker's English mare 
Selima ran and won a sweepstakes at four miles. The 
prowess of Fearnought and his descendants was, how- 
ever, the most powerful factor in leading up to the substi- 
tution of the three and four-mile races for the hitherto 
popular quarter-mile events. Among his progeny were 
such distinguished early horses as Nonpareil, Nimrod, 
America, Regulus, Godolphin, Shakespeare, Gallant, 
Apollo, Harris' Eclipse, Laurel, Matchless, King Herod, 
Whynot, Dandridge's Fearnought and Symmes' Wildair, 
the latter being considered his best son. 

In 1788 there was also brought to the United States a 
thoroughbred stallion who holds a unique position in the 
history of both racing and breeding in America. This 
was the celebrated imported Messenger, son of Mam- 
brino. His lineage went back through his grandsire 
Engineer to the great Flying Childers, son of the Darley 
Arabian and Betty Leeds. Mambrino, his sire, was 
foaled in 1768 out of the Cade mare, the dam of Dulcinia. 
Cade was by the Godolphin Arabian, out of Roxana. 
Mambrino was a great horse on the turf and got many 
fine race horses, as well as some very famous hunters and 
road horses. From his blood the English coach horses 
are thought to have derived their fine qualities, and this 
capacity to get either racers, weight-carrying saddle 
horses or road horses for harness, was transmited in its 
full perfection to his son. 

Like his sire, imported Messenger was a gray. He 
first started in 1783, when he beat Spectre for $i,soo, 
at one and a quarter miles. He was then three years old. 
The next year he was beaten for a sweepstakes and for 
the Jockey Club Plate for four-year olds. At Ipswich he 
was second for the King's Purse, winning one heat. He 
was kept well at work, for at the Newmarket meeting 
he won the Sixty Guineas, weight for age. Ditch-in. He 
also beat Ulysses in a mile match for $500. These per- 
formances ended his doings in his four-year old form. 
The next year he began running at the Newmarket first 
spring meeting, where he beat the Prince of Wales' 
Ulysses, in a match for $1,000. At the same meeting he 
was successful in a match with Fortitude, whom he beat 
for $1,500, across the flat. His last starting was at the 
Houghton meeting, where he was beaten in a weight- 
for-age race, the last three miles of the Beacon Course. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



He was not a great race horse, for, though often success- 
ful, he did not meet those grand performers, sons of King 
Herod and Eclipse, who ran for the great turf prizes in 
his day. But he was a good, honest horse, and in 
matching him his owner had good luck. 

It was from this gray horse that the animals descended 
in America, whose blood, permeating in many channels, 
has made his name famous throughout a wide extent of 
country. There is not upon the Continent a reputation 
higher, more widely spread, or more deserved than that 
which belongs to the Messenger horses. He got horses for 
the turf whose performances at four-mile heats have seldom 
been surpassed, and when put to country mares he pro- 
duced a race of trotting horses whose names have become 
almost synonymous with speed, pluck and a constitution 
in wind and limb that defied hard work and endured to 
a very old age. He was about seven years and a half 
old when he was brought to this country, a rather coarse 
looking horse, is hands, 5 inches high. For over 
twenty years he was in the stud, first in the vicinity of 
Philadelphia and afterward near New York. Mr. Henry 
Astor, of New York, owned him in 17Q3, at which time 
he was valued at a little more than $4. 000. He was 
afterward owned in part by Mr. Cornelius W. Van Ranst. 
He died in 180S in the stable of Mr. Townsend Cock, 
near Oyster Bay, Long Island. His burial was made the 
occasion of a great turnout by all the country people 
■ thereabout, and he was placed in a grave specially pre- 
pared for him, a short distance from his stable, while a 
military organization gave him the honors of a hero by 
firing volley after volley over his grave. 

Descendants of Messenger have been famous both upon 
the running course and the trotting track. He got 
Miller's Damsel, the dam of American Eclipse; Potomac, 
Fair Rachel, Little John. Bright Phoebus, Hopperboy, 
Empress, Romp. Grand Turk, Washington Gray and 
other horses that were distinguished three-quarters of a 
century and more ago. The last colt of which he is 
known to have been the sire was called the Bush Messen- 
ger, after his owner, Mr, Philo C. Bush. But he is better 
known now as the ancestor of a great tribe of trotting 
horses, whose name is legion, rather than as the ancestor 
of thoroughbreds. In truth, he is the fountain head of 
the American trotting horse. Among his sons and 
daughters who were distinguished in the trotting 
annals of the United States, alike from their accomplish- 
ments on the track and in the stud, were Hambletonian, 
who was originally called Hamiltonian, Mambrino.Win- 
throp or Maine Messenger, Engineer, Commander, Tip- 
poo Sahib, Grey Mambrino, Black Messenger, Saratoga, 
Mount Holly, Coriander and Fagdown, The best line of 
Messenger trotters has probably been that short and very 
direct one through Mambrino and Abdallah to Hamble- 
tonian and his descendants. The horses of this famous 



blood get excellent produce, and its mares are equally va\- 
uable. The Messenger blood has always been well repre- 
sented in the West, where Mambrino Chief was long its 
leading stallion. 

To one of the sons of Messenger Vermont is indebted 
for those crosses which have largely sustained the size 
and quality of the horses of that State in spite of the 
mania which has prevailed for the small and mongrel- 
bred Morgans, Hambletonian was got by Messenger out 
of a mare called Peacock. She was not thoroughbred, 
though she foaled winners to Messenger, and when it 
came to breeding from them, the black drop soon 
showed itself. Hambletonian, however, was a stallion 
calculated to do immense service in the State of Ver- 
mont, where he stood many years. The Bush Messen- 
ger, the last of the sons of the fine old horse, who had 
run and won at Newmarket, stood much in Maine and 
established good crosses there. Wherever Messenger 
sent a son, especially if he had good country mares to 
go to, a fine, stout, long-lived race of horses was the 
result. There are not in the history of the turf, or in the 
Stud Book, or in the traditions of general breeders, any 
two horses from whom has flowed such peculiar, such 
general and such varied excellence as from .Mambrino in 
England, and his son Messenger in this country. Ham- 
bletonian, the great-grandson of Messenger, and well 
inbred, was the nearest to and the richest in the blood 
and proved that he possessed and transmitted to his 
offspring the great leading characteristics of this tribe, 
viz., speed, bottom, stoutness of frame, endurance and 
courage. 

Of the many excellent thoroughbred mares that were 
imported during the closing years of the century none 
was more distinguished, or was of more value in the 
stud than Black Maria. She was one of the prodigies of 
her day, and united not only great speed to unflinching 
gameness, but was possessed of remarkable stamina, run- 
ning until her fourteenth year. She was out of a celebrated 
race mare by imported Shark, one of the best racers and 
stallions that England ever produced. Her dam was by 
Regulus. Originally known as Selden's Maria, she was 
sold to Mr. Alexander when she was three years old, 
and soon afterward became the property of Colonel 
John Tayloe, of Virginia, and General Wade Hampton, 
of South Carolina. She was sent to South Carolina for 
the express purpose of a trial with General William 
Washington's renowned Shark by imported Shark, who 
up to that time had been considered invincible. Suc- 
cessful in this race, she defeating Shark upon the course 
of the Charleston Jockey Club in four-mile heats and sub- 
sequently had a brilliant career extending well into the 
nineteenth century. Another mare belonging to Colonel 
John Tayloe was Virago, by imported Shark out of 
imported Virago by Star. She was foaled in 1791, and 



23 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



for several years after attaining her three-age form, stood 
at the head of the turf, beating in many races the best 
horses, including the famous Virginia Nell, twice, once 
in September, 1796, in a match race at Port Royal, S. C. 
It will not have escaped notice that in our review of 
the American turf down to this point, Virginia and 
Maryland have been exhibited as taking a predominant 
part in advancing the cause of the thoroughbred. Never- 
theless, while the turf on this side of the ocean was thus 
in a formative state, other sections of the country bore a 
share scarcely less distinguished than that of Virginia and 
Maryland in bringing it to settled condition. Especially 
was this true of South Carolina. The City of Charles- 
ton, in that State, was the business and social centre of 
a community which prided itself on English blood and 
aristocratic tastes. Racing would naturally find favor in 
such a society, and as far back as 1734 horses were 
matched against each other there, although these early 
contests were not of a particularly notable character, nor 
had they much bearing upon the subsequent develop- 
ment of the turf One of these match races is recorded 
as having been run for twenty pounds a side, the contest 
taking place on what was called the green, the use of 
that term indicating that, at that time, racing, as in Eng- 
land, was actually on the turf In the newspapers of 
South Carolina of the middle of the eighteenth century 
were occasional announcements referring to "the famous 
racing horse named Roger," "a gelding chestnut owned 
by one Joseph Butler," and other horses that were 
advertised as great race horses. Notwithstanding there 
is little or no historical evidence of any strains of blood 
specially bred to run in the colony at that time. 

Soon, however, a jockey club was organized in 
Charleston, and horses of approved blood were procured 
from Virginia and from England, although breeding 
apparently made little progress until shortly before the 
outbreak of the Revolution. The first noteworthy thor- 
oughbred imported into South Carolina was Flimnap, a 
bay stallion by South, out of a mare by Cygnet, the 
hitter by the Godolphin Arabian. Flimnap was imported 
soon after 1770 by a Mr. Mansell and served to notably 
enrich the blood of the race horses of the period. He 
was an excellent performer on the course and the pedi- 
grees of some of the best horses of America during the 
last century or more begin with him. He had a reputa- 
tion that extended beyond local confines, and during the 
invasion of South Carolina by the British under Lord 
Cornwallis, expeditions were organized several times to 
capture him from the plantation of his owner. Major 
Harleson. The horse, however, was secreted, and 
escaping his would-be captors, was taken to North 
Carolina, where he remained in safety until the war 
was ended. 
Even before the breaking out o( the Revolution races 



were becoming more and more frequent upon the New- 
market and other courses that were opened in diflerent 
parts of South Carolina. Most of these races, it must be 
confessed, however, could bear little comparison with 
the sport of subsequent days, for they were little more 
than scrub affairs. Everybody, however, men and 
women, attended them, and gentlemen of the highest 
standing in the State, whether in wealth, political 
eminence or social position, were active supporters of 
the turf Josiah Quincy, the eminent Massachusetts 
statesman, who visited Charleston in 1773, made these 
notes in his journal: 

'■ March 5 — Spent day in viewing horses, riding over 
the town, and receiving complimentary visits. March 
16 — Spent the morning, ever since five o'clock, in 
perusing public records of the Province, etc., etc.; am 
now going to the famous races. The races were well 
performed ; but Flimnap beat little David (who had won 
the last sixteen races) out and out. The last heat the 
former distanced the latter. The first four-mile heat was 
performed in 8 minutes and 17 seconds, being four 
miles. Two thousand pounds were won and lost at 
this race, and Flimnap sold at public vendue the same 
day for 300 pounds sterling. At the races I saw a fine 
collection of excellent, though very high priced horses, 
and was let a little into the singular art and mystery of 
the turf" 

Indeed some of the most brilliant pages in the history 
of the turf of America are those that comprise the racing 
annals of South Carolina immediately following the 
close of the Revolution. The wealthy citizens of the 
State were among the most ardent turfmen in the 
country and the race meets that took place in Charleston 
were celebrated even beyond the borders of the United 
States. For many years Charleston was a great racing 
centre and the meetings on the Newmarket Course and 
afterwards on the Washington Course, under the auspices 
of the South Carolina Jockey Club, were the great social 
and sporting events of the year. Among the names 
associated with the sport in this early period, which has 
been called "A golden age of racing in South Carolina," 
were members of such families as, Moultrie, Pinckney, 
Alston, Wigfall, Sumter, Rutledge, Hampton, Singleton, 
McPherson and Fenwick. What would even in these 
days be considered no inconsiderable sums were 
expended in the purchase of the highest class of high- 
bred stock and the equipment and maintenance of racing 
stables, and the South Carolina horsemen were justly 
regarded as among the foremost representatives of the 
sport. A chronicler of 1786 thus wrote of the gatherings 
on the Newmarket Course at that time: 

" Whether we consider the elevated character of the 
gentlemen of the turf; the attraction the races possessed 
at that time, and for many subsequent years, for all sorts 

24 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



iind foiuiitions of nu-n— vduth :inticip;itiiia; its delitihts 
for weeks belbreli;ind, the sternness of ;itje rehixing by 
their appro;icli, lovers becoming; more ardent, and young 
damsels setting their caps with greater taste and dex- 
terity — the quality of the company in attendance; the 
splendid equipages; the liveried outriders that were to 
be seen daily on the course; the gentlemen attending 
the races in fashionably London-made clothes, buckskin 
breeches and top-boots: the Liniversal interest pervading 
all classes, from the judge upon the bench to the little 
schoolboy with his satchel on his back; the kind greet- 
ings of the town and country; the happy meetings of 
old friends, whose residences were at a distance, affoid- 
ing occasions of happy intercourse and festivity; the 
marked absence of all care, except the care of the horses; 
the total disregard of the vakie of time, except by the 
competitors of the races, who did their best to save it 
and economize it — everything combined to render race 
week in Charleston emphatically the carnival of the 
State, when it was unpopular, if not impossible 1o be 
out of spirits, and not to mingle with the gay throng." 
.^fter the Revolution New York was slower than the 
Southern sections of the country in renewing its interest 
in racing. It is worth recalling, however, that during 
the British occupation of the city the British officers 
found leisure to indulge in their national sport. The 
Royal American Gazette, published in New York in 1781, 



by Alexander Robertson, has an advertisement of one of 
the racing meetings of that time, that is of more than 
ordinary historical interest. It appears in the issue of 
the paper for Thursday, April 26, as follows: "Ascot 
Hhath, Secoihi Mri-.t:ng. — On Tuesday. Wednesday and 
Thursday, the sth, 6th and 7th of June next, being in 
Whitsl'Ntidk Wki:k. will be run for on each of these 
three days, A purse of ion poiiiuls value; also on each 
of the said days will be run for a purse of Twrntv 
Pounds value, calculated for horses that are not properly 
trained. Particulars of the whole will be notified in 
proper time, by advertisements and hand bills. Chari.ks 
Loosi.EY, Broohlyu-Hall, April 26, lySi." In the same 
issue of this newspaper also appeared another unique 
advertisement in which Mr. Loosley pleads for the 
attention and commiseration of all lovers of amusement: 
"Stole from the Plains of Flatlands on Saturday night 
last, between the hours of 9 and 10 in the evening, aboLit 
seventy yards of new White Inch Rope, that had been 
fixed there for the utility of the races. The rope is the 
property of Charles Loosley, at Brooklyn-Hall: and he 
hopes that every exertion will be made to bring to 
justice the perpetrators of this inroad upon property and 
insult upon commendable amusements — for which 
purpose Twenty Guineas will be paid on conviction of 
any one or more of the offenders, by Charles Loosley, 
Broolilyn-Hall. tApn'l 26. lySi." 



25 



A GOLDEN AGE OF RACING 



The American Turf in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century— A Period of Great Horses, 

Distinguished Turfmen and Brilliant Racing— Full Development 

of the American Thoroughbred 



i 



^HE early years of the present century were a 
golden age of the turf, especially in the 
Southern States where, almost alone, it had 
? secured a permanent footing. Most of the 
great turfmen who had devoted themselves to the 
sport, even though, it must be confessed, in a some- 
what tentative manner, in the years immediately fol- 
lowing the close of the Revolution, continued their 
interest and activity in breeding and racing well into 
the succeeding century, it was from the planters and 
stock raisers of that section that these notable horse- 
men were developed, and they and their successors, 
drawn fron this original social rank, continued until 
within comparatively a few years, to be a large majority 
of their class in this country. In those early days of the 
turf it was generally conceded that, to make racing pop- 
ular, successful and profitable, horses should be bred, 
trained and run in the sections where they were raised. 
It is only since the Civil War, perhaps, that this view of 
the subject has been substantially changed, and even at 
this time it would scarcely be true to say that the old 
idea has been entirely obliterated. This consideration, 
combined with other circumstances, was a most potent 
factor in making Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennes- 
see and other States of the South famous for the fre- 
quency, popularity and social and financial success of 
their various race meetings. 

It was not, however, until the century was well on its 
way that the American turf assumed a form of settled 
order and that the pedigrees of horses on this side the 
Atlantic became clear and distinct, affording the desired 
opportunities for that comparison between different 
strains of blood that is so fascinating to the lovers of 
horses and so necessary to an intelligent view of the sub- 
ject. Although racing had been fully established in all 
sections of the country previous to the War of 1812, the 
contests during the first quarter of a century after the 
War of the Revolution were, as we have already seen, 
of a somewhat desultory character, while results were 
not officially recorded, so that the records of running 
down to about 1815 are far from reliable. Writing upon 
this special phase of the subject, Henry William Herbert, 
better known as Frank Forester, has expressed himself 
in this wise: 

■■ To draw a parallel as nearly as I can draw one, 1 re- 



gard the old American turf, prior to the fifteenth year, at 
least, of the nineteenth century, as neither more nor less 
authentic than that of England up to the time of English 
Eclipse, and I consider that the era of the importation 
and covering of Diomed and Messenger in the United 
States as parallel to that of O'Kelly's wonderful 
stallion (Eclipse) in the old country. From the day 
when the sons and the daughters of these noble animals 
began to run upon the turfs of England and the tracks 
of America all is plain and on record, so that he who 
runs mav read." 

The list of thoroughbreds who made good report of 
themselves during the first fifty years or so of the cen- 
tury, and elevated the American turf to a position of re- 
nown and even of prospective rivalry with the more 
ancient turf of England, is both imposing and brilliant. 
It includes many names that have become household 
words, not only in sporting circles, but also in general 
public estimation. The fame and the achievements of 
such great champions as Boston, Fashion, Ariel, Sir 
Archy, Lexington, Lecomte and scores of others have 
extended not only throughout the United States, but 
even to foreign lands. Their imperishable performances 
have made some of the most glowing pages in the turf 
history of the wodd. Besides these famous ones there 
were scores, aye, hundreds, that were scarcely less 
worthy, and whose careers helped to round out a won- 
derful half century of turf achievements. Their names 
have been less conspicuous than those of the greater 
cracks, it may be, but, none the less, they scarcely yield 
second rank to those of the most brilliant reputation. 
Even to record the names of these eminent thorough- 
breds would require many volumes. A few of them 
only may be referred to here in order to give a sugges- 
tion, at least, of the richness of American turf history in 
this period. 

The stable of Colonel John Tayloe, of Virginia, con- 
tained many excellent stallions and mares who were 
successful on the turf and also transmitted valuable 
strains of blood to their descendants. One of the best 
of Colonel Tavloe's string in the first decade of the cen- 
tury was Lady Lightfoot by Sir Archy, out of Black 
Maria by Shark. From youth until she was aged there 
were few better race horses in Virginia or elsewhere 
than Lady Lightfoot. When Vanity was winning 



26 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



triumphs alonp; the James River, I.adv Lightfoot was 
equally successlul along the Potomac. In 1817 she 
won the (Aip of the Charleston, S. C. Jockey Club, 
two-mile heats, defeatiuij Colonel Singleton's Young 
Lottery, a few days alter that performance winning 
another two-mile heat race, again beating Young 
Lottery and three more, while on the next day she 
won the handicap race in three mile heats, beating the 
renowned Transport, Merino Ewe and others. In this 
one week she accomplished the unprecedented triumph 
of winning three days out of four against the best horses 
in the State. The following year, in a three-mile heat, 
she beat Vanity, but before the question of superiority 
was fully decided by the completion of this race Vanity 
trod on a pole and fell, breaking her neck. She after- 
ward beat Tuckahoe who, in his time, was deemed the 
best horse on the turf and almost invincible. From three 
to eleven years of age she was in constant training, and 
out of the 199 miles that she run, she won 113, her 
triumphs extending from South Carolina to New York. 
As a brood mare, afterward owned by Mr. Chailes H. 
Hall, of Harlem, New York, she was distinguished by 
her progeny, especially by Mr. J. C. Stevens' Black 
Maria, Colonel Wade Hampton's Bay Maria and Com- 
modore R. F. Stockton's Shark, all of them being by 
Eclipse. 

Vanity, one of the closest rivals of Lady Lightfoot, was 
an own sister of Reality, both of them being by Sir 
Archy, OLit of a dam by imported Medley. Both were 
run with great success by Colonel William R. lohnson, 
who bred from the latter by Sir Charles, the equally 
famed Bonnets O'Blue, the winner of many great 
matches and particularly of a four-mile heat race, over the 
Charleston, S. C, course, against Clara Fisher, who was 
got by Kosciusko, a son of Sir Archy, out of a dam by 
Hephestion, son of imported Buzzard. Bonnets O'Blue 
became most renowned as the dam of Fashion, who beat 
Boston in 1842. 

Nancy Air, by imported Shark out of Annette, dam of 
the Maid of Oaks, by imported Shark, played a conspicu- 
ous part on the turf in the first few years after the 
century opened, being run by Colonel W. Alston in the 
stable with the renowned Gallatin. She was the dam of 
the great racer and brood mare Transport, by Virginius. 
After a brilliant career on the turf Transport produced 
Sir William, by Sir Archy, and Bertand, Jr. , and Julia, 
both by Bertrand. Annette, the dam of Nancy Air, was 
run successfully by Colonel Tayloe under the name of 
Phantasmagoria. The Maid of Oaks, who was foaled in 
1 80 1, and was owned by Captain Bird Willis and Gen- 
eral Ridgely, proved superior to all her competitors until 
she trained off, beating such horses as Surprise, Oscar, 
Floretta, Topgallant and others of the same class. With 
Post Boy, the Maid of Oaks and Oscar, General Ridgely 



had one of the strongest strings at that time. From the 
Maid of Oaks, by Duroc, came Marshall Duroc, a good 
racer, and, by imported Expedition, the dam of Medoc, 
who was the best son of Eclipse. 

Lottery, by imported Bedford, out of imported Anvi- 
lina, was foaled in 1800. She was owned by Colonel 
Singleton, .uid in her phenomenally brilliant career beat 
Merchant, Hampton, Farmer, Peggy and others. By 
Sir Archy she produced Young Lottery, Kosciusko, Saxe- 
Weimar, Mary Singleton and Phenomenon. Sally Hope, 
who was foaled in 1822, was by Sir Archy. out of a dam 
by imported Chance. Although by accident and mis- 
management she was unfortunate upon her first appear- 
ance upon the turf, she ran a long and brilliant career, 
achieving twenty-one victories out of twenty-live con- 
tests. In about eight months she traveled nearly i.soo 
miles and won sixteen races in succession, most of them 
being three and four-mile heats against a succession of 
fresh horses, beating such good ones as Betsey Ransom, 
Snowstorm. Trumpator, Phillis and others. Colonel 
Wynne, her owner, considered her the best four-miler 
of the day, superior even to the more famous Ariel, 
whom he also owned and trained. Polly Hopkins, who 
was foaled in 182s, was got by Virginian out of a dam 
by imported Archduke. She won twenty-six races out 
of the thirty in which she entered at all distances, break- 
ing down the spring that she was six years old, after 
having defeated the best horses of her day — Star, Kate 
Kearney, Slender, Collier and others — and having the 
best time to her record. Trifie, by Sir Charles, out of a 
dam by Cicero, son of Sir Archy, was foaled in 1828, 
and had a long and celebrated career, being regarded as a 
phenomenon of speed and bottom. When in condition 
she beat all competitors— Black Maria. Spark, Alice Grey, 
Mucklejohn. Red Gauntlet, Collier and others. Although 
she lost a few races, she won about twenty before she 
retired, twelve or more of her best ones being in suc- 
cession. 

One of the most distinguished daughters of Timoleon 
was Omega, out of Daisy Cropper, by Oscar. Foaled in 
1834. she was very successlul throughout her career, her 
most celebrated achievements including a winning four 
miles in 7 minutes, 40 seconds, the best time on the 
Washington City course: a good second place to Boston 
in the best time on the Petersburg. Va., course, and a 
winning four-mile heat race in four heals upon the 
course at Charleston, S. C. During her career she beat 
Gano, Santa Anna and others. Andrewetta, by Andrew, 
out of a dam by Qscar, was foaled in 183s and ran a lengthy 
and famous career at Petersburg. Va., winning a heat 
from the peerless Boston in 7 minutes, so seconds, the 
fastest over the course. She was the dam of Engineer, 
by Revenue, and of Bostona, by Boston. Sarah Wash- 
ington, by Zinganee, out of a dam by Contention, both 



27 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



Zinganee :ind Contention bcino; by Sir Arciiy, was dis- 
tinofuislied by her fast races in Virginia and Washington 
in the forties. She ran a second four-inile heat with 
Utaw in 7 minutes. 42 seconds, except that of Omega, 
the fastest four-mile heat over the Washington Course. 
She was the dam of Oratrix. Escape. Inspector, Slasher. 
Sue Washington and Fanny Washington, names of 
imperishable renown. 

In the same decade Reel, by impoi'ted Glencoe, by 
Cotton, was the champion of the Southwest until she 
broke down when running against George Martin, by 
Zinganee, out of a dam by Sir Aichy. Reel was more 
distinguished through her sons than by her own achieve- 
ments, she being the dam of Lecomte by Boston, Stark 
by Wagner and Prioress, the two latter being in the 
string that Mr. Richard Ten Broeck took to England, 
where Stark won the Goodwood and other great stakes 
and Prioress won the Cesarewitch. Of the same period 
was Nina, by Boston, out of an imported dam by Lot- 
tery. Her career was nearly, if not quite, equal to that 
of any of her illustrious predecessors. She ran over 
several courses in the best time, especially in a four-mile 
heat contest over the Broad Rock course in 7 minutes. 
46^ seconds, 7 minutes, 46 seconds and 7 minutes, 49 
seconds. She was the dam of Planet and Exchequer, 
both by Revenue. Undine, who was foaled in i8st), 
was got bv Jeff Davis out of a dam bv Imported 
Monarch. During a short but biilliant career she 
beat the best horses of her time — Nicholas 1., 
Exchequer, Fanny Washington and othei's— and won 
from Planet much the fastest race of four-mile 
heats ever run over the course at Chai'leston, S. C, 
in 7 minutes, 36^ seconds and 7 minutes, 42 
seconds. 

Even more famous than the mares were the stallions 
of the period under consideration, both imported and 
native born. Earliest among the importations were 
Phoenix in 1803, Bussorah in 1819, Roman in 182^, Bare- 
foot in 1827, Hedgeford and Autocrat in 1899 and Trustee 
in 1835- Trustee produced the imperial Fashion, Roman 
got Treasure!', Barefoot was the sire of Clara Howard 
and Hedgeford the sire of Duane. Bussorah was an 
Arabian, but did not add essentially to the value of thor- 
oughbred stock in the United States any more than have 
other Arabians that have been imported since his time. 
He was a horse of great beauty, had a good pedigree 
and was free from any particular defects of form, but 
lacked the perfect degree of excellence that was neces- 
sary to make him successful in the stud. Florizel, by 
imported Diomed out of a dam by imported Shark, was 
the Eclipse of the first years of the century, defeating all 
his competitors without ever being put to his topmost 
speed. He won the great match of the day, $3000 a 
side against Peacemaker, another renowned son of 



Diomed. He also became more famous as the sire of 
the dam of Boston. 

Gallatin, who was owned by Colonel John Tayloe 
and Colonel William Alston, was got by imported Bed- 
ford, out of an imported dam by Mambrino. He was a 
horse of extraordinarv speed, one of the best, if not 
quite the best, of his day. and supposed to be superior 
to all his predecessors. Governor Benjamin Ogle's Os- 
car, bv imported Gabriel out of Vixen by imported Med- 
ley, was renowned on the turf and in the stud, and 
especially for the match race, four-mile heats, in which 
he beat First Consul. Medoc, by American Eclipse, 
was one of Mr. John C. Steven's best horses and had a 
fine record, both on the turf and in the stud. Post Boy, 
by imported Gabriel, was a brilliant race horse, one of 
the best on the American turf. He died when aged 
from an accident, which befell him when running 
against Hickory, the victor in a three-heat race. He was 
owned by General Charles Ridgely. First Consul, by 
Flag of Truce, out of a dam by imported Slender, out ot 
imported Diana by Eclipse, was considered one of the 
best horses on the turf until he was beaten in the famous 
match race by Oscar in Baltimore. 

Brown Dick, by imported Margrave out of Fanny 
King by imported Glencoe, was owned by Colonel 
Goldsby. He ran with success, especially in winning at 
Charleston, S. C, two-mile heats in 5 minutes, 42 sec- 
onds and 3 minutes, 46 seconds, and the following day 
three-mile heats in s minutes, 43 seconds and s minutes, 
42 seconds. Another one of his celebrated races was 
upon the course near New Orleans, when he beat Arrow 
three-mile heats in s minutes, 30 seconds and 5 minutes, 
28 seconds. Argyle, by Monsieur Tonson out of Thistle 
by Oscar, was a renowned racer, bred in Maryland, and 
stood at the head of the turf in South Carolina and 
Georgia, until beaten m a great race by John Bascombe. 
Mingo, by American Eclipse, his dam Bay Bett being by 
Thornton's Rattler and he by Sir Archy, was a magni- 
ficent and beautiful horse, regarded by many as an 
animal in the highest form. He was a good winner and 
good performer, but suffered a great deal from bad man- 
agement, honors being taken from him by Post Boy, 
Lady Clifden and others. John Bascombe, by Bertrand. 
son of Sir Archy and out of Gray Goose by Pacolet, was 
renowned for winning two great matches of four-mile 
heats in Georgia, in one of which he beat Argyle in 7 
minutes, 47 seconds. Upon the Fashion Course at New 
York he was the Southern champion against the North 
in one race, beating Post Boy, by Sir Henry. He was a 
large, tall and light-bodied horse, had fine action, and 
was an easy and speedy goer, but was not a stayer. 

Trustee, one of the best horses imported into the 
United States during this period, arrived here in 183s. 
and died in 1836. He was foaled in 1829, and was got 



2y 



TITE AMERICAN TIIRE 



by Cation out of Kmma by Whisker, his tjrandam bi-iiiti 
Gibside Fairy by Hermes, lie tracuJ baci< to Lord Ox- 
ford's IKin Arabian out of the D'Arcy black-legged, royal 
mare. He was selected by Commodore Robert F. 
Stockton and Messrs. Francis P. Corbvn and F. G. 
Ogden, and after his arrival in this country Commodore 
Stockton trained him and ran him at Trenton on a 
private trial at four miles, in which he performed admir- 
ably. By Bonnets O'Bkie. he was the sire of the cele- 
brated Fashion, was also the sire of Trustee, the first 
horse in the world that ever trotted twenty miles within 
an hour, and of America, Grace Darling, Revenue, Car- 
lotta, Livingston, John Black, Nero, Logan and others. 

Imported Sovereign was bred by King William IV. in 
1836. He was purchased at the annual sale of yearlings 
in 1857 by Colonel Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, 
for 400 guineas and brought to the United States. At 
that time he was described as a sumptuous looking colt, 
having as much bone and substance as Commodore 
Stockton's Langford. also bred at Hampton Court. In 
color he was a dark bay. with a small star, stood \b 
hands high, and was of commanding presence. On his 
voyage over to this country he was injured so that he 
never appeared on the turf, but was a valuable addition 
to the stud. He was got by Emilius out of Fleur-de-Lis, 
who was sold to the French Government for a large 
price at the sale of the royal stud. Fleur-de-Lis, with 
Elizabeth and Maria, were the three great favorites of 
King William IV., and also of George IV. She was 
considered the most blood-like mare in England, and 
when purchased for the royal stud cost $7,500. She was 
by Bourbon out of Lady Rachel by Stamford. Emilius, 
the Sire of Sovereign, was got by Orville out of Emily 
by Stamford, and traced to Whiskey out of Grey Dori- 
mont by Dorimont. Sovereign became the sire of Childe 
Harold, Berry. Charleston, Prioress, Ruric, Governor 
Johnson, Bailie Jordon, Avis, Territler, Nat Pope, Fleur- 
de-Lis, and many other famous cracks. To this list, 
which is by no means complete, of the worthy thorough- 
breds of the first thirty years or more of the present 
century, might also be added the names of Clarion, by 
Monmouth Eclipse out of a dam by Oscar; Expedition, 
Baronet, Alexander, Rockwood, Clumsy, Grey Gran- 
them, Bay Bolton. Clockfast, Spread Eagle. Rocking- 
ham. True Whig, Giantess, Henry Perrit, and scores, if 
not hundreds, of others not less entitled to considera- 
tion. 

Sectional rivalry in racing matters has in this age 
entirely passed away. All inteiested in the turf are 
thoroughly acquainted with the fact that the West is the 
best breeding ground for the thoroughbred horse, and 
that in the past a very large proportion of the keenest 
and most successful horsemen have been natives of 
that section; at the same time, the prominence of the 



North as the centre of racing and the influence of 
other sections in breeding is now frankly conceded. It 
would, however, be impossible to gainsay the fact that 
Kentucky in particular has played the most important 
part of any State in the modern development of the 
thoroughbred on this side of the Atlantic. Both that 
State and Tennessee were settled largely, it not mainly, 
by Virginians, who carried with them to the West both 
a love for the sport and a large number of the best 
horses that could then be found m this country. It was 
quickly discovered that soil, climate and the particularly 
nutritious character of the grasses — above all, the famed 
Kentucky blue grass — favored the development of all the 
best qualities of which the thoroughbred is capable. 
Consequently, even before the admission of Kentucky 
into the Union, it took a high rank for both breeding 
and racing, while Tennessee was not far behind in these 
respects. Though still very much in the condition of a 
wilderness, Kentucky had its race meets as early as 
1788, and boasted at that time of horses of no mean 
descent or small merit. Time has only emphasized the 
advantages with which nature herself has endowed 
Kentucky and her neighbor, and if there is any part of 
the land which can contest their supremacy as a place 
for bleeding it is only California, where within recent 
years that indiistrv has assumed remarkable proportions 
and been attended with wonderful results. 

Lexington, Ky., possesses the oldest race track in the 
West. The association which conducts the racing there 
was organized in 182^, and since that time its regular 
races have been held practically without interruptions. 
Indeed, even during the Civil War, when the stress or 
the conflict closed the gates of practically every track in 
the land, whether in the North or South, the passion of 
the Kentuckians for their favorite sport could not be sub- 
dued. The only break in the record was in 1862, when 
the State itself was the scene of hostilities and when the 
forces of the Confederate General Kirby Smith occupied 
Lexington on their advance into Kentucky and encamped 
on the race grounds, the spring meeting being then 
omitted. Horsemanship is a natural accomplishment 
with the natives of that section and all classes are 
intensely interested in the turf, to which they have always 
given generous support and encouragement. Even the 
great commoner, Henry Clay himself, was a breeder ot 
note. He imported the famous mare. Yorkshire, and 
his son, Mr. James M. Clay, made the statesman's beauti- 
ful home at Ashlands famous for its breeding stud. 

It is. indeed, impossible to exaggerate the important 
part which Kentucky horses and Kentucky horsemen 
have had in the development of the turf in our country. 
In the matter of importations her leading men displayed 
the utmost liberality, as well as a true power of selection. 
Many of the best English horses which came to this 



29 



TTTE AMERICAN TURF 



country after the e;irly period of the turf ultimiitely 
found their way to KtMiluci<y studs, the horses bred 
there thus representing the best results that could be 
obtained from high-class stock, supplemented by ideal 
conditions for rearing and developing blooded animals. 
Among the horses from abroad which thus, in most 
instances, contributed directly to raise the standard of 
the Kentucky horse, were such animals as the Derby 
winners, Priam and St. Giles, and Rowton, Musgrave 
and Barefoot, winners of the St. Leger, with other note 
worthy racers and sires, including Sarpedon, Tranby, 
Ca:tus, Trustee, Emancipation, Chateau Margaux, Rid- 
dleworth and Leviathan, not to -neglect the great sire, 
imported Glencoe, the ancestor of so many winning 
horses for more than two generations. 

Kentucky, which has been the home of the majority of 
America's great thoroughbreds, also holds the bones of 
hLindreds of them. Many of these gieat turf pei'- 
formers and great sires sleep in unknown and unmarked 
graves. A simple marble shaft, which stands over the 
grave of the immortal Lexington, was the first memorial 
stone ever erected over the remains of a dead turf king. 
Mr. Frank Harper, a near neighbor of Mr. A. J. Alex- 
ander, the owner of Lexington, followed the example 
set by the latter, and when his own incomparable 
stallions, Ten Broeck and Longfellow, died, he gave 
them decent burials on his pretty Nantura Farm, near 
Midway, and over the grave of each erected suitable 
monuments, which tell the breeding and the peitorm- 
ances of the horses which lie beneath them. These are 
the only two Kentucky breeders who have seen fit to 
place stones over their equine dead, and their examples 
remained almost unique until Mr. James R. Keene, in 
1897, put an appropriate slab over the grave of his young 
stallion. Domino. The burial places of other noted 
horses, while known, in many instances remain still 
unmarked. 

Imported Pizarro, imported Whistle Jacket, Duke of 
Montrose and Strathmore are buried at the home of their 
former owner, Mr. Milton Young, at McGrathiana, Ky. 
His splendid English stallion, Osory, full brother of 
Ormonde, died on the ocean while being brought to this 
country and was buried at sea. Imported Australia is 
buried at Woodburn, and Waverly at Mr. James Grin- 
stead's old Walnut Hills Farm. At Elmendorf Virgil and 
imported Prince Charlie sleep. Imported Glenelg was 
buried on Mr. Tyree Bates' farm near Gallatin. Tenn. 
At General W. H. Jackson's Belle Meade Farm imported 
Vandal and Enquirer are buried. War Dance and Mel- 
bourne, Jr., are buried on Mr. A. K. Richard's firm in 
Scott County, Ky. General Abe Buford's McWhirter, 
the horse which broke his legs while running at St. 
Louis, was buried on the race course where he ran that 
remarkable race. It was the action of McWhirter in try- 



ing to win after both his fore legs had been broken that 
caused General Bul'ord to declare that he believed horses 
had souls and went to heaven. Imported Leamington 
was buried at Mr. Aristides Welsh's place, Frdenheim, 
near Philadelphia. 

Grinstead is buried at Santa Anita Farm, California; 
Harry O'Fallon at Mr. L. B. Field's place near Lexington; 
imported Billet at Runnymede; imported Buckden at 
Boyle County, Ky. ; Tom Bowling, the wild horse, at 
Mr. S. C. Lyne's Larchmont farm, near Lexington, and 
Alarm at Manor Bashford Farm, near Louisville. Boston, 
the sire of Lexington, is buried at the old Blackburn 
Farm in Woodford County, where Senator Blackburn 
was born. American Eclipse is also buried there. Grey 
Eagle, the famous show horse which took premiums 
over all the Kentucky stallions, while he was the prop- 
erty of Mr. Paiker E. Todhunter, is buried in Ohio, and 
Medoc in Scott County, Ky. At Ashland Farm, near 
Lexington, Ky., the only thoroughbred establishment in 
America ever conducted by a woman. Mrs. John M. 
Clay, are buried imported Yorkshire and the great brood 
mare. Magnolia, who was sent as a present to Henry 
Clay by admiring turfmen of Virginia. Mrs. Clay is the 
daughter-in-law of the great commoner, and she keeps 
green the little mound over Magnolia's bones. Sir Leslie 
was buried at The Meadows, near Lexington, which was 
the birthplace of Alexander's Lexington, and Sidi Ham- 
met is also buried there. Imported Sarpedon. the sire of 
Alice Carneal, the dam of Lexington, is buried about 
four miles from Lexington, Ky., on the Georgetown 
road. 

Imported Glencoe, the only horse known to have died 
while standing up, is buried on Mr. A. K. Richard's old 
farm in Scott County, Ky. Bertrand is buried in Bour- 
bon County, and Lexington's son, Norfolk, who sired 
El Rio Rey and other great performers out of Mariam, is 
buried on Mr. Theodore Winter's farm in California. 
Imported Diomed was buried in Virginia; imported 
Phaeton at Hurtsbourne Stud Farm, near Louisville; Sir 
Archy at Colonel W. R. Johnson's, near Richmond, Va. ; 
Dalnacardoch at Middlebrook Farm, Maryland; imported 
Glen Athol at Mr. J. V. Shipp's f:irm in Woodford 
County, Ky. ; imported Glengary at Kennesaw Stud 
Farm, Gallatin, Tenn. ; imported The III Used at the 
Nursery Stud, near Lexington; King Ernest at Brook- 
dale Stud Farm, New Jersey; imported Martinhurst at 
Pasadena, Cal. ; imported Mortemerat Brookdale Stud and 
imported Mr. Pickwick at Mr. Charles Reed's Fairview 
Stud, Tenn. Ossian died at sea while being imported to 
this country and was buried in the Atlantic; Rossifer at 
Fairview Stud, Tennessee; Strachino at Woodstock, 
Canada; imported Stylites, destroyed on account of an 
accident, at Meadowthorpe, the home of Colonel James 
E. Pepper, near Lexington; Zorilla at Elmendorf; Aris- 



30 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



tides, Mr. H. P. McGnith's '-little red iiorse," at tiie St. 
Louis fair grounds; Baden Baden at Rhinebeck, N. Y. ; 
Ellas Lawrence on Mr. J. Walter Payne's Mapleton Farm, 
near Lexington; Littleton at Montgomery Square, Pa.; 
Pat Malloy at Woodburn; Red Roy in Montana; Vaux- 
hall near Lexington; Whisper on Fleetwood Stud Farm, 
near Frankfort; King Ban on the banks of North Elk- 
horn, at Dixiana Farm; Feliowcraft at Mr. J. R. Haley's 
farm, near Donerail, Ky. ; Ban Fox and King Fox on 
Hogan's ranch, Colorado; Herzog near Cincinnati, at 
the old Buckeye race course. Skedaddle, by York- 
shire out of Magnolia, is buried at Mrs. John M. Clay's 
Ashland Farm ; also Balloon, Star Davis, Margaret Wood 
and Geoi'gie Wood. Kentucky is buried at August 
Belmont's farm. 

"Tennessee, also at an early period in its history, mani- 
fested a generous interest In the turf. The tlrst settlers 
of that section of the country brought with them some 
of their best stock from Virginia and the Carolinas, and 
some Mexican mares of the Spanish and Barb breed 
were Introduced. Among the early stallions of the 
Janus family in Tennessee were Jupiter, Comet and 
Bowie and of the Fearnought family, Eclipse, Wlldair 
and Bucephalus. About i8oq, Gray Medley, who was 
bred by Governor Williams of North Carolina, was 
brought to Tennessee by Dr. Redmond D. Barry, and 
did much to Improve the quality of the horses which 
were bred In the younger State^ He was a handsome 
horse and very game in appearance and lived to an old 
age. He was the son of imported Medley and became 
the sire of the dam of the famous brood mare, Madame 
Tonson. Wilkes' Wonder, a son of Diomed, was 
another stallion noted in the early history of the Ten- 
nessee turf, and Coeur de Lion, Royalist and Hal also 
did good service in the first decade or so of the present 
century, '^ery many of the best Eastern or imported 
horses also found their way to the State and aided In 
Improving the quality of the race horses It produced. • 

General Andrew Jackson, who was interested In 
breeding and racing, had a notable horse In Truxton, a 
powerful animal, sired by Diomed. Truxton was 
engaged in many performances, being almost a sure 
winner, whether at a quarter or a four-mile heat. One 
of the famous races In early Tennessee days was between 
Truxton and a swift mare Greyhound, owned by Mr. 
Catton. The match was a mile dash and General 
Jackson carried away heavy spoils as the result of the 
victory of Truxton. Pacolet was also one of Tennessee's 
famous stallions whose sons. Brushy Mountain and 
Cumberland, particularly distinguished themselves. 
Pacolet was also the sire of Tonson, who beat eyery- 
fhing in his State and afterward beat at Boydton the 
celebrated Sally Walker against all of Colonel W. R. 
Johnson's skill and management. Contemporary with 



these was Bagdad, who was bought by Mr. George 
Barclay from the Minister of Tripoli to England, and 
imported Into this country In 1823; dying In 1836, he 
left some good stock, remarkable for speed rather than 
bottom ; he was said to be of pure Arabian blood. Of 
the celebrated Sir Archy stock Tennessee had among 
others. Gray Archy, TImoleon, Pacific, Napoleon, Stock- 
holder and Crusader. Stockholder got Betsey Malone 
and Pacific was the sire of Pactolus, Gamma, Epsilon 
and others. 

Pacolet held his own In competition with the best 
imported horses and with the very best Virginia breds. 
The Tonson family, which came from him, was con- 
sidered one of the most valuable in Tennessee and long 
had an established reputation throughout the South. 
Sir John was got by Pacolet, out of a dam by Topgallant, 
his grandam being by Gray Medley, out of a Virginia 
bred mare, said to have been full bred. When Sir John 
became a winner his name was changed to Monsieur 
Tonson and his dam took the name of Madame Tonson. 
Another famous Tennessee horse was Topgallant, bred in 
Georgia, and got by Gallatin out of a dam by Wildalr. 
Imported Highlander, imported Chllders and Doublehead, 
by Diomed and others, were some of the best stallions 
In Middle Tennessee in the early days of the turf in that 
Stajte. 

^'Neaily all the prominent men in Tennessee yielded 
more or less to the fiiscinations of the turf, and the meet- 
ings at Nashville and elsewhere compared. In point of 
interest and In the quality of the racing, even with those 
upon the Kentucky track. Some of the most Important 
controversies of the period, social and political, were the 
outgrowth of this Interest In the race track. It is re- 
corded, for Instance, that the defeat of Irvlng's Plowboy, 
by Truxton, in a race of two-mile heats for $5,cx)0, was 
the cause of the duel between Generals Jackson and 
Dickinson. Besides General Jackson. General Lucius J. 
Polk, of the historic family that afterward gave a Presi- 
dent to the United States, General W. G. Harding and 
the Honorable Bailie Peyton were among the most 
prominent turfmen of the State,, 

A list of the deaths of some df the leading thoroughbreds 
In the first half centurv of American turf history may be 
interesting In this connection. Imported Janus died in Vir- 
ginia in 1780, aged 33 years; imported Fearnought died 
In Virginia about 1776. aged 26 years; American Eclipse 
died in Virginia about 1790, aged 20 years; Marc Antony 
died in North Carolina about 1793, aged 32 years; Im- 
ported Shark died in Virginia in 1796, aged 2s years; 
imported Medley died In Virginia In 1799. aged 2 3 years: 
Celer died in North Carolina in 1802, aged 28 years: 
Spread Eagle died In Kentucky In i8ot, aged 13 years; 
Gray LHomei died in North Carolina in 1806, aged 20 
years; Imported Messenger died in New York in 1808, 



31 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



aged 28 years; imported Dioined died in Virginia in 
1807, aged 30 years; imported Coeur de Lion died in 
1809, aged 20 years; Dragon died in Tennessee in 181 2, 
aged 25 years; Wonder died in Tennessee in 181 s, aged 
15 years; imported Boaster died in Tennessee in i8iq, 
aged 24 years; Pacolet died in Tennessee in 182s, aged 
17 years; Oscar died in Tennessee in 1826, aged 11 
years; imported Eagle died in Kentuci<y in 1817, aged 
30 years; Constitution died in Tennessee in 1827, aged 
22 years; imported Bluster died in 1828, aged 20 years; 
imported Buzzard died in Kentucky in 1811, aged 24 
years. 

Possessing, as the breeders and lovers of racing m the 
United States at last did, animals of the highest thorough- 
bred type, it was natural that steps should be taken to 
facilitate the ti'ial of their powers in a regular way. 
Horsemen of the pi'esent day can hardly conceive of the 
practical difficulties which the pioneers of the turf had to 
encounter in putting it upon a lirm foundation in this 
country. The spirit of Puritanism, which is unquestion- 
ably part of the fundamental character of many Ameri- 
cans, was opposed to the turf on principle, and was par- 
ticularly displayed at the great Northei'n centres of popu- 
lation, where public interest could otherwise have been 
most natur.illy developed. This, however, counted for 
little in comparison with the difficulties of a purely- 
physical nature involved in the great distances between 
different sections and the inadequate means of transpor- 
tation. To-day a whole stable of thoroughbreds can be 
taken by rail from California to the great tracks of the 
East with comparatively little risk, far less than w.is once 
involved in bringing a single horse from Virginia to New 
York. It was not until the railroads set distances at 
naught that animals from the West began to compete at 
the Eastern tracks, and consequently the horsemen of the 
early decades of the century may be excused for the ap- 
parent slowness with which they proceeded to establish 
tracks, and to bring racing in the United States into 
some resemblance to the dignity and order that it had, 
considerably before that time, attained in England. 

They were, however, sportsmen in the highest sense 
of the word, these fathers of the American turf, such as 
Colonel John Hoomes, or Colonel John Tayloe, who 
joined together in importing the great Diomed, or their 
worthy fellows, the Hamptons, llldens, Ridgelys, Lloyds, 
Bowies, Stevens, and so on through a long list of names 
of might in our equine annals. They met with the dis- 
couragements and repulses which seem, from time to 
time, to be inevitable in connection with racing in the 
United States, but they were manful and in earnest, de- 
voted to racing as a sport, and their efforts were cer- 
tainly crowned with a success that time has not dimmed. 
The rewardsof the turf were, in those days, little beyond 
honor. Purses were, to our eyes, ridiculously small, and 



the racing public was such a comparatively restricted 
body that betting was on a limited scale. Under all 
these disadvantages they performed a wonderful service 
not only to the sport itself but lo the standard of horse- 
flesh in their country. 

The universal esteem in which the turf was now held 
bv nearly all classes was clearly indicated by the attendance 
upon racing events wherever they might occur, be that in 
the North or in the South. Even the Puritanism of New 
England yielded, more or less, to the fascinations of the 
sport. Statesmen, clergymen and other professional 
men gave the indorsement of their countenance to the 
turf, as well as those who were more substantially inter- 
ested in it, from being the proprietors of breeding estab- 
lishments or active participants in racing contests. 
Such distinguished statesmen and leaders as Washington 
and Jefferson were among the early patrons of the turf in 
Virginia in the latter part of the previous century. They 
even ran horses in rivalry with their fellow citizens, and 
long after they had departed this hfe they were pointed 
to as exemplars. Even now there are extant memoran- 
dum books in which Washington recorded his bets on 
some of the races which he attended. 

As late as 1790 the Father of his Country acted as a 
''judge at a race course near Alexandiia. It speaks well 
of the high esteem in which he was held and of the con- 
fidence which his fellow citizens reposed in his integrity 
and fairness, that he was invited to officiate as judge on 
this occasion, even though one of his own horses was 
entered in the race; and it is also interesting to note that 
his horse was beaten. Afterward he sold this horse, 
which was named Magnolia, to " Lighthorse " Harry 
Lee for $i,soo, and the animal was sent to South Caro- 
lina, where it attained to some further distinction on the 
turf. In this same race meeting at Alexandria a horse 
entered by Thomas Jefferson, called simply a roan colt, 
was the winner, defeating Washington's Magnolia and 
several other horses entered by other prominent Vir- 
ginian gentry. Quite as early as this time, also, race 
tracks were established at Petersburg, Richmond and at 
other centres of population in the State. 

In treating of the subject of the development of hor; 
racing in the United States during the present cent 
the historian finds, almost at the very outset of his inves- 
tigation, that it is incumbent upon him to consider the 
national capital, Washington, as one of the great centres 
of racing interest and the scene of brilliant turf events. 
To what extent the Southern statesmen of the old school 
were devoted admirers of horseflesh has been clearly 
and fu'ly set forth on many pages of this volume. The 
brilliant and erratic John Randolph, of Roanoke, who 
was one of the foremost men of his period in displaying 
interest in this sport, had many companions among the 
public men of his time, who were in full agreement with 




32 



THE AMF.RICAX Tl'RF 



him upon this point, even thoui^h thcv m.iy liavc syni- 
p:ithi/c'ii with him less on poHtical and other questions 
of the hiuir. Nor weie the men of the Noitli much, if 
any. behind theii' bietliien iVoin the Southei'n States in 
givintr abundant attention and support to the institution 
that afforded one of the few rela.xations which were then 
possible in the half-built and thinlv-inhabited Wash- 
injjton of those days. 

Hven before the seat of Cioveinment was removed 
from Philadelphia to the new capital, and before Congress 
had held its first session there, racing interests had 
already established themselves on the banks of the 
Potomac. In 1800 a match race w.is iiin in the Fedeial 
city between Lamplighter, son of Medley, and Cin- 
cinnatus, one of the most renowned horses of that day. 
The former, as the representative of the State of Virginia, 
was entered by Colonel John Tayloe, while the latter 
was owned by General Ridgely, of Maryland, who ran 
with General Forman as his associate, Marvl;ind against 
Virginia. The owner of Lamplighter being a tavern 
keepei', did not belong to what was considered the 
aristocratic class, and, consequently had not been per- 
mitted to become a member of the Jockey Club at 
Annapolis so as to start his horse. Nevertheless, he 
challenged Cincinnatus, but "I make matches only with 
gentlemen," was the reply of General Ridgely. At the 
request of the Virginia tavern keeper, Colonel Tayloe 
took the burden of the challenge upon his shoulders, and 
becoming the principal in the match, won the purse, 
which was for 500 guineas a side. 

Even the representatives of the sacred profession did 
not deem it beneath the dignity of their cloth or 
derogatory to their Christian character to be patrons of 
the turf, or even to be owners of fast horses. The 
Reverend Hardy M. Crver, of Tennessee, has often been 
cited as an e.xample of the horse-loving parson of the 
period. The story that has been related of him is well 
worth preserving as throwing a blight light upon the life 
of that time. Many have held that this story was less 
true than well told, but there is abundant evidence of its 
truth. Mr. Cryer was part owner of a very fine colt, got 
by imported Leviathan. The colt, which had been bred 
on shares by Colonel George Elliott, showed remarkable 
promise of becoming a good racer. When he was two 
years old he was taken in full charge by Colonel Elliott, 
who was a distinguished turtiiian, a near neighbor, and 
an intimate friend of Mr. Cryer. Colonel Elliott having 
in view his value on the race course started to tiain him. 
Some of the ultraconscientious members ol the good 
Mr. Cryer's flock became appiised of Colonel Elliott's 
intentions and were horrified to know that their pastor 
still owned a half interest in the horse. 

Considerable talk ensued over the matter and fin. illy 
at a church meeting a committee was appointed to wait 



upon the pastor and ask for an explanation. A careful 
investigation was made by the members of the com- 
mittee, who finally returned a report in which they took 
the Reverend Mr. Cryer severely to task, which shows 
incidentally that, notwithstanding the general tolerance 
and support that was given to the turf, there was a con- 
siderable minority at least in tlie community, even in the 
South, that looked upon it with something of askance. 
Before submitting the report to the church authorities 
with a request to discipline the offending pastor the 
members of the committee concluded to present the case 
for a vote to the congregation before whom the Reverend 
Mr. Cryer was requested to appear and defend himself, 
if defense he had. Accordingly on the appointed day, 
that being Sunday, after the moining services had been 
concluded, the chairman of the committee arose and 
with a dignity and severity that befitted the solemn 
occasion read the report in which it was charged that 
the Reverend Mr. Cryer, being associated with Colonel 
George Elliott, was actually having a horse trained for 
the very heinous purpose of being run for money, a pro- 
cedure that was calculated to bring discredit upon the 
cause of the church and religion. 

Then the worthy pastor was called upon to state if he 
had any defense. His reponse was brief and to the 
point. Saying that he could dispose of the matter in a 
few words, so far as he was concerned, he acknowleged 
that all that had been said was true and that Colonel 
Elliott was training a colt of which he was half owner. 
Then he added, "Brethren, if you can make any arrange- 
ment by which my half of that colt can stand in the 
stable while Colonel Elliott's half runs on the race track, 
1 will be perfectly satisfied to meet your wishes in the 
matter." The humor of the response touched a sympa- 
thetic chord in the hearts of his hearers and it is probable 
also that a substantial majority of them had for them- 
selves such a love of the turf that, after all, they were 
willing to look with lenient eye upon the pastor's 
ofTense. When a vote was taken the congregation 
declared by a large majority that it had the utmost con- 
fidence in Brother Cryer. The racing parson lived to a 
green old age. retaining to the last the love and respect 
of his people, the fullest confidence of his church and 
never relaxed his admiration for good horses or his inter- 
est in the race course. 

No gentleman of the early part of the century seems to 
have been more constant in attendance upon turf events, 
or moie enthusiastic over all classes of turf experiences, 
than the Honorable Josiah Qiiincv. of Massachusetts. 
He was a close rival of the warmest hearted Southerners 
in his admiration of this sport. Few of the great tLirf 
events of his period escaped his attention and he set 
down in his journal many spirited accounts of them, 
being one of the first and most graphic sporting 



33 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



reporters, if we may be allowed so to designate him, 
that have been known in the annals of turf literature. 
Present at the match between American Eclipse and 
Sir Henry in 1823 he wrote in his journal that fully one 
hundred thousand persons witnessed that great triumph 
of the North over the South. He says that he sat just 
behind John Randolph, of Roanoke, concerning whom 
he adds, " apart from his intense sectional pride he had 
a personal interest at the turn things were taking; for he 
had bet heavily on the contest and it was said, proposed 
to sail for Europe upon clearing enough to pay his 
expenses. Mr. Qiiincy wrote of the race : 

" There was never contest more exciting. Sectional 
feeling and heavy pecuniary stakes were both involved. 
The length of time before it was decided, the change of 
riders, the varying fortunes, all intensified the interest. 1 
have seen the great Derby races, but they finish almost 
as soon as they begin, and were tame enough in com- 
parison to this. Here, for nearly two hours, there was no 
abatement in the strain. 1 was unconconsious of every- 
thing else, and found, when the race was concluded, 
that the sun had actually blistered my cheek without my 
perceiving it. The victors were, of course, exultant, and 
Purdy, mounted on Eclipse, was led up to the judges' 
stand, the band playing ' See the Conquering Hero 
Comes.' The Southerners bore their losses like gentle- 
men, and with a good grace. It was suggested that the 
comparative chances of Adams and Jackson at the ap- 
proaching Presidential election should be tested by the 
gathering. "Ah," said Mr. Randolph, ' if the question of 
the Presidency could be settled by this assembly there 
would be no opposition ; Mr. Purdy would go to the 
White House by acclamation.' " 

'^i'he palmiest days of the American turf were the latter 
portion of the first and the commencement of the second 
quarter of the present century. It was not until the cen- 
tury was advanced nearly to the end of its second decade 
that the people of the North began fully to appreciate the 
utility and practical excellence of horse racing, or to give 
it substantial encouragement. Previous to that time, 
racing, as has been already pointed out, was confined 
almost entirely as an established organized institution to 
the States of Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee, which were then the great race 
horse regions of the United States. Between 1825 and 
'1850 were run nearly all the great races and matches 
against time for long distances that have distinguished 
the American turf. ^ Most of these races were in three 
and four-mile heats, and the preservation of the records 
of some of the more important of them is valuable as 
giving a clear insight of the character of the sport that 
enlisted the attention of our f;ithers, and is also a revela- 
tion of the endurance and speed of the horses that were 
then run. Four-mile heats in from 7 to 8 minutes and 



three-mile heats in from 5 to 6 minutes were so common 
as to excite little surprise. There was scarcely a race 
meeting held, either in the North or the South, that did 
not develop one or more such records among its events. 
Several of the more striking achievements of this char- 
acter are recorded in detail in another chapter of this 
volume. There were others, however, that were only 
secondary in interest, so far as time was concerned, even 
if they did not attract the sensational sectional attention 
that was given to the greater events. 

To go back somewhat beyond the period which we 
have assigned as being that of the palmiest days of the 
turf, there were a few achievementsthat certainly deserve 
passing recognition. In 1786, Brimmer, seven years old 
and carrying 140 pounds, won a four-mile heat at Tappa- 
hannock, Va., in 8 minutes, 4 seconds, 8 minutes, 8 sec- 
onds and 8 minutes, 12 seconds, the time, with deduc- 
tions, being 7 minutes, 32 seconds, 7 minutes, }6 seconds 
and 7 minutes, 40 seconds. Snapdragon, six years old 
and carrying 120 pounds, won four-mile heats on the 
Newmarket Course at Petersburg, Va., in 1805, in 8 
minutes, 7 minutes, 57 seconds and 8 minutes, 4 sec- 
onds. Cupbearer, five years old, carrying 112 pounds, 
won four-mile heats, in 1804, at Fredericksburg, Va., in 

7 minutes, 56 seconds and 7 minutes, 50 seconds. 

In 1806 came a race upon the course at Washington 
that produced a great sensation at the time, as being 
remarkable for its competitors, both men and horses, and 
for its result. Five horses were entered. Dr. Edelin's 
Floretta by Spread Eagle, six years old, representing 
Maryland; General Ridgely's Oscar, by Gabriel, six 
years old, also representing Maryland; Mr. Bond's First 
Consul, by Flag of Truce, aged, representing Pennsyl- 
vania; Colonel Tayloe's Topgallant, by Diomed, six 
years old, representing Virginia, and Mr. Brown's 
Nancy, by Spread Eagle, six years old, representing 
New Jersey. The winning of this race by Floretta 
was deemed a marvelous performance and sportsmen 
thought that the acme of speed and bottom had been 
reached in this country. The race was referred to then 
as " one of the most memorable that ever came off on 
the Washington Course. Horses were horses and men 
were men in those days. Fair top boots, powdered 
heads and golden guineas were all the go; and for fair- 
ness and honor a stain was felt like a wound." Floretta 
was closely pressed by Oscar and First Consul and won 
in the second and third heats. Each heat was run under 

8 minutes and the second in 7 minutes, 52 seconds. 
The time was better than had been made on the course 
even up to 1829 and has not been often surpassed since. 

In 181 1, Pacolet by Citizen, four years old, won the 
first heat in a race at Fairfield, near Richmond, which 
was not considered a fast course, in 7 minutes, 54 
seconds, and two years after Sir Hal by Sir Harry, four 



34 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



years old, won a first heat in 7 minutes, S2 seconds. 
The same Sir Hal. aged, in 1816 beat Tuckahoe, seven 
years old, three-mile heats in s minutes, 49 seconds and 5 
minutes, 43 seconds. In 1803, Peacemaker, by imported 
Diomed, beating the famed gelding Surprise, by Bell Air, 
ran one heat in 5 minutes, 43 seconds. Sir Solomon, 
by Tickle Toby, in 1808, when three years old, ran two 
four-mile heats in 7 minutes, 44 seconds and 7 minutes, 
49 seconds. Realty, beating Timoleon in 18 lO, both 
horses being by Sir Archy, ran three two-mile heats on 
the Newmarket Course at Petersburg, Va., in 3 minutes, 
49 seconds. 3 minutes, 47 seconds and 3 minutes, 48 
seconds. 

Beginning with the second quarter of this century 
these long distance races multiplied in number, even if 
the records were not materially decreased. Upon the 
Newmarket Course, in 1828, Sir William, by Sir Archy, 
beating Washington, ran three fast two-mile heats in 3 
minutes, so seconds, 3 minutes, 45 seconds and 3 min- 
utes, 50 seconds. The previous year Sally Walker beat 
Ariel in three-mile heats, upon the Broad Rock Course, 
in y minutes, 44 seconds and 5 minutes, 43 seconds. 
Upon the same course, also in three-mile heats,' Sussex 
beat Polly Hopkins, in 1830, in 5 minutes, 46 seconds, 
and s minutes, 48 seconds, and Atalanta, beating Deca- 
tur and others in 1837, ran a second heat in 5 minutes, 
44 seconds. One-eyed Joe, in 1855, beat Frankfort and 
Seline thr«e-mile heats in s minutes, 48 seconds and s 
minutes, 43 seconds, and two years previously Red-Eye, 
by Boston, seven years old, beat Lawson and One-eyed 
Joe in three-mile heats in 5 minutes, 46 seconds and 5 
minutes, 44 seconds. The fastest four-mile heat over 
this Broad Rock Course was won by Lizzie McDonald, 
formerly Sue Washington, beating Tar River in 7 min- 
utes, 37J2 seconds, doing three miles in 5 minutes, 40 
seconds, her time for the heat being three seconds faster 
than the best time on the course. That was in 1858. 
Tar River, was only a length behind Sue Washing- 
ton when she won this fast heat, and was the win- 
ner of the race. Five years previous, on the same 
course, Red-Eye, aged, beat Nina, also by Boston, in 7 
minutes, 46 seconds, 7 minutes, 46}^ seconds and 7 min- 
utes, 49 seconds, and Sir Hal also won there a race in a 
single heat in 7 minutes, 46 seconds. 

In 1827, Sallv Walker, five years old, by Timoleon, 
who was then considered to be at the head of the turf. 
beat the famous Ariel, same age, at three-mile heats in s 
minutes, =,4 seconds and 5 minutes, 43 seconds. Ariel, 
by American Eclipse, six years old, beat Trumjiator in 
1828 in 8 minutes, 2 seconds and 7 minutes, 43 seconds. 
Betsey Ransom, by Virginian, three years old, had a 
record in 1826 of three four-mile heats in 7 minutes, 50 
seconds, 7 minutes, 45 seconds and 7 minutes, so sec- 
onds, in 1823, Sir Henry, who was then four years old, 



beat Betsey Richards in the Spring Meeting of the New- 
market Course in 7 minutes, 54 seconds and 7 minutes, 
58 seconds. At the Fall Meeting on the same course 
John Richards beat Betsey Richards in nearly the same 
time. Two miles of a four-mile heat in each of these 
races was run in 3 minutes, 48 seconds, which was close 
up to the record of 3 minutes and 46 seconds that Sir 
Aichy had made in 1809. 

The most celebrated four-mile heat races on the Long 
Island Union Course were that of Eclipse and Henry in 
1823, in 7 minutes, 37 seconds, 7 minutes, 49 seconds and 
8 minutes, 24 seconds; that of Boston and Fashion, in 
1S42. in 7 minutes, 32I2 seconds and 7 minutes, 4s sec- 
onds; Lady Clifden's race in 1837, in 7 minutes, 44 sec- 
onds, 7 minutes, 43 seconds and 7 minutes, 56'2 seconds; 
the Peytona and Fashion race in 1846, when the time of 
two heats aggregated 15 minutes and 25 seconds; the 
Bostona and Fashion race in 1848, when the time of two 
heats aggregated 13 minutes, 37^2 seconds; the Tally 
Ho and Bostona race in 1850, both horses by Boston, 
the time being 7 minutes, ^^j'i seconds, 7 minutes, 43 
seconds, 7 minutes, 53 seconds and 8 minutes, and 
Red-Eye's race in i8s4, in which One-eyed Joe won the 
second heat in 7 minutes, 39 seconds, the fastest second 
heat ever run at the North, the aggregate time of the 
winner's two heats being is minutes, 31 seconds. 

Red-Eye's race was on the Fashion Course, and on 
the same course, in 1857, Nicholas 1., by Glencoe out of 
a dam by Wagner, four years old, twice beat Sue 
Washington, first in 7 minutes, 40 seconds and 7 min- 
utes, 43 seconds, and second, in 7 minutes, 39 seconds 
and 7 minutes, 44 seconds. Then we have on the same 
course the victory of Nicholas 1. over Engineer in two 
four-mile heats in 7 minutes, 45 seconds and 7 minutes, 
47 seconds. On the same course Engineer won in 
three-mile heats, each heat in s minutes, 42 seconds. 
One of the early fast three-mile heats was at Louisville, 
Ky., in October, 1839, when Wagner, by Sir Charles, 
five years old. ran the best three miles of a second heat 
of four miles in s minutes, 3s seconds, the last mile 
being in 1 minute, 48 seconds and the two miles in 3 
minutes, 43 seconds. Upon the Union Course in May, 
1832, Boston, at five years of age and carrying 1 14 
pounds, ran three miles in a four-mile heat in s minutes, 
36>L' seconds. 

In his famous race with Fashion in 1842, Boston led 
two miles in 3 minutes, 42 J 2 seconds, and three miles in 
s minutes, 37V2 seconds. In i8ss. Brown Dick, by im- 
ported Margrave out of Fanny King by imported Glen- 
coe, three years old and carrying 86 pounds, beat Arrow 
a three-mile heat race over the Metairie Course in s 
minutes, 30^ seconds and 3 minutes, 28 seconds. At 
the same meeting, Lexington, in his record-breaking 
four-mile race of 7 minutes, 19^ seconds, ran three 



35 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



miles in s minutes, 27 seconds. In iiis great four-mile 
victory over Lecomte on the same course, Lexington 
made three miles of one heat in 5 minutes. 31 '_■ seconds. 
At the same meeting. Henry Perrit, by imported Mar- 
grave, won two-mile heats in ;; minutes, ^q seconds and 
3 minutes, 40 seconds, running the first mile of the sec- 
ond heat in i minute, 42J2 seconds. Doubloon, bv im 
ported Margrave out of Picayune by Medoc, beat Topaz 
and Charmer on the same course in 1849 two-mile heats 
in 3 minutes, 48^4 seconds, 3 minutes, 42 seconds and ^ 
minutes, 37 seconds. Lecomte, Berry, Miss Foote. Sally 
Waters and others ran two miles on the same course in 
about the same time. Lecomte, Prioress and others doing 
a mile in about i minute, 4s seconds. 

Examples might be multiplied almost without limit 
showing the speed and bottom of the racers of the olden 
times. it is evident, however, without proceeding 
further, that in everything that goes to make up the per- 
fect thoi'oughbred. the great horses of the second quarter 
of the centurv were nonpareils that were the equal of 
any in the world, and that would scarcely lower their 
colors if put to the supreme test with the best of those 
who have succeeded them. In the States south and 
west of the Potomac, the high standard of this early 
period was steadily maintained. In the North, legiti- 
mate racing gave way to the trotting turf to such a pre- 
eminent degree just previous to the Civil War that such 
horses as Eclipse and his distinguished , get, Maiia, 
Mingo and others, who sustained the credit of the turf in 
this section, were no longer to be found. It is only 
within the last decade or two that the North has re- 
established itself, and with its turf achievements has 
recalled the brilliancy of that great epoch when 'iclipse, 
Fashion, Black Maria and others of their class success- 
fully challenged the best that any other section of the 
country had to offer. 

At least a decade preceding the outbreak of the Civil 
War the prospects of the American turf began to be of a 
decidedly unceitain character. Gentlemen who had 
been thoroughly identitled with its interests for a quarter 
of a century or more and who had given to it generous 
support, had gradually withdrawn from all connection 
with it, principally because the general conduct of its 
affairs had fallen into unworthy hands. Men who had 
followed the business of breeding and of racing from a 
wholesome love of the sport rather than from any pur- 
pose to make it a profitable pursuit from a financial point 
of view, could not look with complacency upon the 
growing commercial spirit which was slowly but surely 
coming to dominate the turf and all that pertained 
to it. Especially was this true in the North, where such 
men as Messrs. Stevens, Coster, Livingston, Stockton, 
King and others, who had heretofore given the turf in 
this section pre-eminent business character and social 



standing, had broken up their studs and were seeking 
diversion in other sports than racing, particularly in 
yachting, which was then coming into great prominence. 

In the North racing almost entirely died out, while in 
the South the meetings were, generally speaking, of an 
unimportant character when compared with the great 
affairs of previous years that had been of really national 
importance. At a few of the headquarters of historic 
racing in the South, such as Nashville, Louisville, New 
Orleans, Lexington. Charleston, and a few other places, 
some very good racing was still continued, the attrac- 
tions being such horses as General W. G. Harding's 
Herndon by Albion ; Mr. George Everly's AUemdorf by 
George Elliott; Mr. R. A. Alexander's Lavender, by 
Wagner out of Alice Carneal ; Mr. A. K. Richards' 
Glycera and Colossus, both by Sovereign; Mr. John M. • 
Clay's Daniel Boone by Lexington out of Magnolia, by 
Glencoe; Mr. John Harper's Edmonia Taylor by Cracker; 
Mr. J. M. Haye's Hanover by Yorkshire; Major T. W. 
Doswell's Planet by Boston ; Colonel D. McDaniel's 
Financier; Mr. R. A. Alexander's Lilla by Yorkshire, and 
others of the same class. This list, which of course 
does not in the least pretend to be comprehensive, is 
fairly representative of what the turf of that day had to 
present, and shows very clearly the striking difference 
between these days and those that had preceded them. 
In the North new divinities had arisen and the fickle 
public was bowing before the shrines of Flora Temple, 
Ethan Allen and other great trotters of the period, when 
it was not going wild over the fistic work of the 
redoubtable Heenan and Sayres and their compeers in 
the prize ring. Many of the turf meetings failed to 
attract more than a corporal's guard, which was in sad 
comparison with the earlier part of the century, when the 
attendance often thousand or twenty thousand enthusi- 
astic spectators was by no means uncommon upon 
important racing days. 

To such a low estate had racing fallen in the vicinity 
of New York about this time, that the famous old Union 
Course on Long Island was often given over to some 
very weird performances. A newspaper report of the 
period thus describes an event of this character, a mule 
race on Thanksgiving day for a purse of $so: "Eight 
of the obstinate brutes were brought to the starting point, 
but only four could be induced bv all the persuasive 
arguments of the ti.iiners or owners to go anyhow. The 
money was awarded to Eastern Jack, who, after being 
left behind in two heats, won the last three. lAfter the 
second he:it a nigger mounted him. and as there is some 
natural affinity between niggers and mules, he won 
easily. Tom Tit, a very ugly customer, appears to have 
created the most fun or sensation, for he kicked out 
when struck with a whip, ran into a ditch, was whipped 
out of that and then made straight for the bar-room and 



36 



nil': AMERICAN TURF 



scattered all the siiiilers aiui knocked their .i^lasses into a 
thousand sparkles; finally he kicked a niiijier on the 
head and it was thought ' the crowner's crest ' would be 
necessary, but nigger's suffering is most tolerable and 
to be endured." 

it was generally acknowledged that scarcely anything 
worthy of being considered legitimate horse racing was 
now in existence in the United States. To make the 
situation even more unpromising, there did not appear 
to be any appreciable effort being made for its rehabilita- 
tion. In the N'icinity of New Yoik there still existed 
clubs, on Long Island and in Hoboken, and also 
further south in Trenton, Camden, Baltimore, Washing- 
ton City, and, of course, in Virginia, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, South Carolina. Alabama, and other Southern 
States. At each of these courses there were two meet- 
ings annually, and for the entire list of these races there 
were only about ten stables that were able to make 
entries, and even of this small number some three or four 
very rarelv had a winner. There was but one possible 
outcome of this condition of things. First came an 
inevitable loss of public interest in the turf and a decrease 
of patronage upon racing events. Following this was a 
deterioration in the management of race courses and 
less and less interest paid to breeding and training. 
Ultimatelv it came about that many of the courses were 
abandoned, their grounds being turned over to agricul- 
tural purposes, and the stables devoted to the plough. 

Still, soon after the middle of this decade there were 
abundant indications that the apathy that had so long 
prevailed was in a fair way soon to be dissipated. 
Undeterred bv the difficulties that surrounded them and 
the clouds that overshadowed them, many of the most 
devoted turfmen in different parts of the country were 
united in determination to revive interest in racing by 
concentrated efforts to elevate its character and to make 
it more profitable to breeders and owners and more 
attractive to the public. There was quick response to 
these efforts, and it was not long before reports of a new 
and encouraging spirit began to be heard from all parts 
of the country. Confidence increased that the sport 
would again resume the prominent and commanding 
position which it had enjoyed during the brilliant days 
of Boston, Fashion. Sir Henry, Eclipse, Sir Archy and 
other giants of the early turf. To be sure it was no 
longer expected that such gentlemen as Messrs. Stevens 
and Livingston, of New York, Stockton and Cibbons, of 
New Jersey, Craig, of Pennsylvania, and Johnson. Botts 
and a score of others of the South would give to the 
turf the countenance that they had bestowed upon it. 
before it had become so thoroughly imbued with the 
spirit of professionalism. Nevertheless, during the time 
that racing had rested somewhat under a cloud, a lew 
devoted spirits had still been generous in time and atten- 



tion to breeding and were developing new racers, who 
were showing a speed that was surprising and that was 
again commanding the attention of all lovers of sport. 
Indeed, it mav be said, that the thoroughbreds themselves 
constituted the most important factor in this impending 
revival. It was impossible for anyone, with an ounce of 
spoiling blood in his veins, or with a genuine love for 
the horse, to resist the appeal that was made to his 
enthusiasm, or to escape the influence that was an 
inevitable outcome of the performances of the new race 
of thoroughbreds. 

Looking at the matter solely from the point of view of 
the time test, Iheie was certainly no degeneracy to be 
discovered in the race horses of the period, however it 
might have been in the managements of the affairs in 
which thev were the principal actois. If we should 
except, perhaps, Boston and a few of his best sons, the 
race horses that now existed in the United States were 
as perfect as any that had preceded them, and quite as 
capable at any and all distances. For example, during 
the year i8s6 there were many good racers at various 
distances that would compare favorably with the best in 
the d.ivs gone bv. Leaving out of the reckoning the 
phenomenal Boston and Fashion match, the contest 
between Floride and Sebastapol in the spring of i8s6, 
near Baltimore, was faster than any four-mile race ever 
run in the Atlantic States. Floride's time in the two 
straight heats in which the race was run was 7 minutes, 
58 seconds and 7 minutes, 42 seconds. In the aggregate 
this was only 3 seconds slower than Fashion's most 
wonderful achievement, when at the same age as Floride 
and carrying nearly the same weight. It was 8 seconds 
faster than the memorable heats of Henry and Eclipse, 
that for years were unsurpassed and were regarded by 
many sportsmen as unapproachable. In the same year 
Sebastapol, on the Newmarket Course, in Virginia, beat- 
ing Frankfort, by Glencoe. run four miles, in the precise 
time of Sir Henry and John Richards with the same 
weight for four-vear olds in the memorable Eclipse year 
of 1823, Balloon, by Yorkshire, in Kentucky, won a sec- 
ond heat in four miles in 7 minutes. 47 seconds. 2 
seconds faster than Eclipse's lamous second heat, when 
he beat Henry. The get of Tally Ho. son of Boston: of 
Revenue, son of Trustee; of Glencoe. Sovereign, York- 
shire Wagner and others stood at the head of the turf. 

In this Renaissance meetings in different parts of the 
country, especially in the South, began to attract more 
attention than had been given to them for many years. 
In this era there were several places in the South in 
which racing began again to be eminently successful and 
flourishing, as. for instance. Lexington. Ky. ; Charleston, 
S. C, and New Orleans. Besides almost every little 
town of 10.000 inhabitants or more strove to maintain a 
course, and races were advertised to be held at such 



37 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



places as the Rapides Course in Alexandria, La. ; the 
Herring Run Course in Baltimore. Md. ; the Washington 
Course in Charleston, S. C. ; the Congaree Course in 
Columbia, S. C. ; the Chattahooche Course in Columbus, 
Ga. ; the Central Course in Macon, Ga. ; the Nashville 
Course in Nashville, Tenn. ; the Atlanta, Ga., Course, 
under the auspices of the Atlanta Jockey Club; the 
Lafayette Course, of Augusta, Ga., under the auspices 
the Jockey Club of that place; the Prudhomme Course 
in Natchitoches, La. ; the Newmarket Course in Peters- 
burg, Va. ; the Ten Broeck Course in Savannah, Ga. ; 
the Warrenton Course in Warrenton, N. C. ; the Fairfield 
Course in Fairfield, Va. ; the Bascombe Course in 
Mobile, Ala. ; the Glasgow Course in Kentucky, and 
others of like standing. 

The more important of these places supported racing 
very well. Indeed, the sport thrived better and seemed 
to be in better condition generally in the South than it 
had been for many years, or in any other part of the 
United States at that time. According to population, 
the turf was more generously patronized in the smaller 
places than at any other courses, e.xcept, perhaps, those 
in Lexington and New Orleans, the meetings often 
attracting from fifteen to twenty of the best horses from 
all parts of the United States, while the purses offered 
ranged in value from $300 or $400 to $1,000. Among 
the prominent owners who were represented on these 
occasions were Messrs. William H. Gibbons, Thomas 
W. Doswell, Richard Ten Broeck, David McDaniel, T. B. 
Poindexter, John Campbell, B. F. Cheatham, W. T. 
Cheatham, H. E. Barton, William Roundtree. Thomas 
G. Bacon, Thomas Puryear and T. B. Goldsby. 

Good prices began to be paid for thoroughbreds, for 
their value on the turf and in the stud was fully recog- 
nized. Mr. R. A. Alexander, of Woodford, purchased 
Lexington from Mr. Ten Broeck in 18^6, paying for him 
$15,000. That was not, however, the highest price that 
had been paid for a horse in the United States at that 
time. Priam, who was imported, cost $25,000. Rodolph, 
a horse that never amounted to much in anyway, brought 
$18,000. Monmouth Eclipse sold for $14,000, and one 
authority of that period declared that he was worth 
about twenty shillings. Post-boy. who was the North- 
ern champion and ran against John Bascombe, by whom 
he was defeated, was sold for over $18,000. Porter's 
Spirit of the Times said of these two horses " Neither 
he nor Bascombe were worth shucks, and neither has 
been the sire of a winner fit to start for sour buttermilk." 
Bertrand and Medoc were each held to be worth $55,000. 
Shark and Medley sold for $10,000 each, and to quote 
again from Porter's Spirit of the Times, "The first was 
originally worth, as a stallion, twenty shillings; the 
second not the cost of the powder and shot that should 
kill him." Other horses of that day brought prices 



comparable with those that have already been quoted. 

Nor was the South entirely alone in feeling the stimu- 
lus of the new spirit and in participating in the renewed 
activity in turf matters. New York had hitherto main- 
tained almost alone the standing of the thoroughbred in 
its section, and now the old Fashion Course began 
again to witness affairs that in a small way, at least, 
recalled its earlier triumphs. One of the most interesting 
races of this period, whether of the North or of the 
South, was that wherein Nicholas I. defeated Engineer, 
an account of which is given in another chapter of this 
volume. In this race were matched the Glencoe stock, 
represented in Nicholas, champion of the North; the 
Sovereign stock, represented in Charleston, the cham- 
pion of the more extreme South, and the Revenue 
stock, represented by Engineer, the champion of Vir- 
ginia, three illustrious sons of three of the most renowned 
stallions in America. Not only as a contest between 
rival sections of the country, recalling memories of simi- 
lar meetings of previous generations, did this race attract 
attention, but it was also the occasion of animated dis- 
cussion regarding the relative merits of the three great 
equine families represented by the contestants. 

Locally it was regarded as the greatest turf event of 
the season, and called out the attention not only of rac- 
ing men, but of society folk and the public generally. 
Special preparations were made for the occasion by the 
managers of the course, as the following advertisement, 
which was published in the newspapers of the day, will 
show: "Fashion Course — In order that those in mod- 
erate circumstances may have an opportunity of seeing 
the Great Four-Mile Race between Nicholas, Charleston 
and Engineer at a moderate expense, the Proprietor has 
adopted the following scale of prices for admission to 
the Course and Stands: Subscribers' Badge for the meet- 
ing, $10.00. Quarter Stretch Badge for the day, $5.00. 
Admission to Field and Public Stands, $1.00. Gentle- 
man's Badge for Ladies' Stand, $2.00. The Members' 
Stand has been set apart for the exclusive use and occu- 
pancy of Ladies and their attendants, and no charge will 
be made for Ladies; and a handsome saloon has been 
fitted up for their special accommodation, where refresh- 
ments of all kinds and of the best quality can be obtained. 
Billy Florence will be on hand in the Quarter Stretch 
Stand with Fish, Chowder, Oyster Stews, Oysters in the 
half shell and all sorts of accompaniments; and visitors 
to the course may rely on everything being in perfect 
keeping with the occasion. An efficient police is en- 
gaged, and the most perfect order will be kept." 

Another good four-mile heat race was run in June, 
18S7. upon the Fashion Course, on which occasion Mr. 
John G. Cocks, of Louisiana; Mr. Francis Morris, of New 
York, and Mr. Henry K. Toler, of New Jersey, were the 
judges. Mr. John Hunter's Nicholas 1., by imported 



3S 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Glencoeout of Nanny Rhodes by Wagner, Campbell and 
Barton's Lizzie McDonald, formerly Sue Washington, by 
Revenue out of Sarah Washington by Garrison's Zin- 
ganee, and Mr. James Talley's Lucy Philips, by Tally Ho 
out of Betsey White, were the contestants. Nicholas 1. 
won in two straight heats, the time being 7 minutes, 39 
seconds and 7 minutes, 44^^ seconds. Nicholas 1. was 
a celebrated horse of his day. In 1856 he was sold for 
$3,000, and within one year won double that amount in 
stakes, while those who backed him rarely failed to 
realize large money. He was foaled in Kentucky, near 
Lexington, and the famous jockey, Pincus, almost 
invariably rode hiin. 

Down to the close of the half century, Virginia stock 
or descendants maintained their supremacy. Close up 
to the time of the outbreak of the Civil War such horses 
of Virginia families as Whale, Marksman. Bonnie Lassie, 
Lizzie McDonald, Engineer, Shocco and Slasher were 
among the leading winners, and even Governor Wick- 
liffe, although got by the renowned Glencoe out of 
Motto by the St. Leger winner. Barefoot, and bred in 
Kentucky, was claimed to be of old Virginia stock in 
several of his crosses. The Virginia horses still con- 
tinued to be held in the same high esteem as during the 
previous loo or iso years, and the patriotic horsemen of 
that State never tired of referring to the period when the 
valuable blood horses of the Old Dominion were the 
most renowned productions of this country. Washing- 
ton Irving in his Life of Washington tells how the cele- 
brated Colonel Tarleton got the advantage of the Conti- 
nental troops by mounting his cavalrymen on race horses 
that he found on the Virginia plantations. 

That the Virginia -horses still continued to be as ex- 
cellent animals as their ancestors was shown again and 
again by their brilliant performances in this period. A 
race in four-mile heats in 1858, in which the celebrated 
Lizzie McDonald, quite as well, if not better, known by 
her original naine of Sue Washington, defeated Nicholas 
!., the occasion being their seventh contest, was quoted 
in support of this proposition. The first heat of this race 
was run in 7 minutes, 41 >^ seconds, its third and fourth 
miles respectively being in i minute, 543^ seconds and i 
minute, =52)^ seconds, an aggregate for the two miles of 
3 minutes, 47 seconds. The second heat was run in 7 
minutes, 49 '-2 seconds, the last three miles being in i 
minute, 38 seconds, i minute, s? seconds and i minute, 
53,'^ seconds, an aggregate for the three miles of '^ min- 
utes, 46^1^ seconds, and of the first and second miles of 
3 minutes, 53 seconds. The first heat was the fastest 
four miles by half a second ever made on the Charleston 
Course, where this race was run, and was a gallant test 
of blood and bottom, honorable alike to the victor and 
the conquered. 

The entries for the autumn races over the Fashion 



Course on Long Island in September, 1858, will give as 
fair an idea as it is possible to present in any way of the 
personality of the turfmen of that period, and of the 
character of the horses that were then most prominent. 
The Fashion Course was no longer controlled by a 
gentlemen's jockey club, but was simply a private en- 
terprise managed for business purposes by a single pro- 
prietor, Mr. O. P. Hare, of Virginia. In this respect it 
was in the same class with many other important race 
courses throughout the country, which were at that time 
entirely individual business projects. At this meeting 
nine stables were represented. Mr. John Hunter, with 
N. B. Young for trainer, had Nicholas I., Mohican, Jim 
Watson and others. Mr. William H. Gibbons, with D. 
Macoun for trainer, had the Czar, Mary Eveline, Gold 
Leaf and Crinoline. Mr. Francis Morris, with W. E. 
Ellis, trainer, had Throgg's Neck, Westchester and 
Profit. Colonel R. H. Dickinson, with William Stewart, 
trainer, had Don Juan and George Wickliffe. Messrs. 
Branch & Dickinson, with William Wyche, trainer, had 
Tar River. Colonel John Campbell, with T. B. Patter- 
son, trainer, had Lizzie McDonald and Laura Spillman. 
The Messrs. Doswell, of Virginia, with Jerome Edgar, 
trainer, had Slasher and Planet. Mr. P. C. Bush, 
Messrs. Reber & Kutze, Dr. A. Kirwin, of Canada, and 
others were also represented. There were eight nomi- 
nations for a great four-mile sweepstakes, among them 
Lizzie McDonald, Nicholas I., Mohican, Tar River and 
Slasher. For the Fashion Handicap, with three pieces 
of silver plate as a prize, there were sixteen nomina- 
tions, among them being Mr. P. S. Forbes' Zanoni, by 
Zinganee; Mr. W. H. Gibbons' The Czar, by Tally Ho; 
Mr. Charles S. Lloyd's Charlie Ball, by Wagner; Mr. 
John Hunter's Nicholas I., by imported Glencoe; Mr. 
John Campbell's Laura Spillman, by Wagner, and also 
Don Juan, Slasher, Toler, Parachute and others. 

This particular meeting has a special historical interest. 
In the Fashion Handicap was in effect the first actual 
introduction of the handicap in a practicable and effect- 
ive way that had ever been made in the United States. 
For a long time there had been many advocates of the 
English system of handicapping, and strenuous efforts 
had been made to secure its trial, if not its complete 
acceptance. Up to this time, however, none of these 
attempts had been successful. The adoption of the sys- 
tem in this instance, even though in the form of an 
experiment, was looked forward to with much interest 
by turfmen and the public generally. The first effect of 
it was seen, as had been predicted, in the large field that 
the race presented and the high merits of the horses that 
were nominated. For a sweepstakes to close with six- 
teen nominations of the best horses then on the Ameri- 
can turf was something unusual, where three, four or 
half a dozen entries were generally the highest number 



39 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



that could be expected. It was, therefore, hoped that 
the effect of this innovation would be that larger fields 
would be the custom on all tracks and that instead of 
two or three horses, or frequently one of pre-eminent 
ability appearing to take easy posse.ssion of a stake, or, 
perhaps, walk over the course for it to the disappoint- 
ment of thousands of spectators, there would be many 
competitors and .m e.xciting contest in every event. 

Our consideration of the history of the American turf 
has now led us to a point where the beginning of civil 
strife and sectional dissensions made their influence felt 
upon the fortunes of this popular sport even as they 
were impressed upon all other business, professional and 
social interests of the two prominent sections of the 
country. The existence of the turf at that time 
depended largely upon the hearty accord of owners 
representing different portions of the Union and with the 
growing bitterness of feeling upon the political ques- 
tions that were then uppermost in the minds of all citi- 
zens, it became impossible to maintain the conditions 
that were needed for successful racing. As we have 
already seen, the decadence of the turf had really com- 
menced some years previous to this date, and the interest 
which prominent and influential men had heretofore 
manifested in it was palpably on the decrease, tor rea- 
sons other than mere sectional differences. Moreover, 
the public, after passing through the great panic of iSsy, 
which brought ruin to thousands and naturally depleted 
the ranks of the wealthy patrons of racing, was pre- 
occupied, not only with thoughts upon the political 
situation, but with energetic effort to recover its finan- 
cial standing. 

All these things combined to make it, that at no pre- 
vious time in the history of the nation had there been so 
little disposition for the diversion afforded by sport of 
any kind. The turf, in short, suffered a decided set- 
back and at every point declined enormously. Although 
a semblance of racing was still kept up, the few events 
that came off were of a desultory and unimportant char- 
acter, Kentucky being about the only section in which 
the sport flourished with anything that could be consid- 
ered as approaching its normal vigor. Before actual 
hostilities between the North and South broke out pub- 
lic interest in the turf had become reduced to a low 
point and the final clash of arms gave the sport what 
was feared at the time would be its death blow. 

It is singular to notice, however, and is also an inter- 
esting commentary upon the spirit of the times as 
showing the general hopefulness that pervaded both 
sections up to the last moment that somehow the 
dreaded conflict would be avoided, that the racing events, 
such as they were, were continued throughout i860 and 
even into 1861. They were advertised in the Northern 
newspapers and reports of them sent from the South were 



of a character that showed that many of the turfmen 
were even more concerned over questions of pedigree 
and speed than they were over the controversies of poli- 
tics and arms. Even after Fort Sumter had been fired 
upon, this condition of affairs continued. As late as 
June, 1861. the Magnolia Jockey Club, of Mobile, Ala., 
announced its Winter Meeting for the following Decem- 
ber and its spring stakes for March. 1862, with seem- 
ingly the fullest confidence that nothing would be 
likely to occur to interfere with the complete realization 
of its plans. At the same time the Savannah Jockey 
Club was contemplating its annual meeting in January, 
18O2, and other events were set down in Tennessee, 
Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia for the summer 
and autumn of 1861 and the spring of 18O2. 

This anomalous condition of affairs, however, could 
not long continue. Men soon became impressed with 
the terrible seriousness of the struggle before them and 
shortly abandoned all further thoughts of turf exploita- 
tions. Race tracks in all parts of the country largely 
suspended their meetings, the jockey clubs, especially of 
the South, were dissolved, while the great breeding 
establishments that for generations had been the pride of 
Virginia, Tennessee and other States of that section 
were completely broken up. The thoroughbreds had 
graver work before them now than striving for mastery 
over the course. They were drawn into the armies, 
especially for the South, and probably never in history 
had officers and men oi the cavalry service been so 
superbly mounted as was now the case in the Confed- 
erate Army. Leading turfmen of the South generally 
took an active part in the struggle, and their farms and 
race tracks wei'e, for the time being, abandoned. Mis- 
fortunes of the character that naturally afflicted the 
Southern people, for the most part, were spared the 
tLirfmen of the North, who were relatively few in num- 
ber. Nevertheless, for the time being, the war put an 
end also to racing upon the courses of the North, where 
the sport had been kept alive tor so long mainly through 
a spirit of rivalry with the South. 

General attention on the part of those who. despite the 
overshadowing clouds of war, still maintained a lingering 
interest in horse flesh, was now in the absence of those 
particular exhibitions of the thoroughbred that had here- 
tofore concei'ned them turned to a consideiable degree 
toward the English turf The presence in that country 
of Mr. Ten Broeck. who had already been there for 
several years with his stable of American cracks, afforded 
a special reason why turf affairs in that country should 
be watched with incieasing attention and interest. 
Consequently, we find that at this period the literature 
of the American turf confined itself almost exclusively to 
that special branch of the subject. The trotting horse, 
however, held a decided supremacy ovei' the thorough- 



40 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



bred ill the attention tlial was jiiven to him in the North 
during the war davs. Having never, to anv great 
extent, been in favor in the South, the trotter remained 
unartected by the changed conditions in that section. 
The Noith. and especially New York and New Hngland. 
was the natural home of the trotter, even as the South 
had on the other hand always CLiltivated the thorough- 
bred almost exclusivelv. In New Hngland, where 
racing had never taken tirm hold and has not even to the 
present day, the trotting horse was the only favorite and 
continued even throughout the war to engross such 
attention from those interested in horses as could be 
given to the subject amid the increasing distraction of 
arms. But even this modified concern over horses and 
racing soon fell into the background, overwhelmed by 
the more pressing exigencies of the hour and the 
demands upon the patriotism of the public in those times 
that tried men's souls. It was not long before the tuif, 
whether in its running or trotting manifestation, dis- 
appeared from the public and business life of the North, 
as well as in the South, not to be revived until .after the 
great question of national existence should be forever 
settled. 

\ And yet it was at this critical time, as late as August, 
1862, that the fust meeting ever held in Boston for the 
flying contests of the turf was inaugurated upon the 
Franklin Park Course, which had been hitherto given up 

/ to the trotters who have always been exceptionally 
popular in Boston. Up to that time the knowledge of the 
stay-at-home sporting public of that city had been con- 
fined in the way of racing entirely to trotting features. 
The elimination of the Southern tracks from the calcula- 
tions of owneis had moved them to a desire to expand 
the circuit for the performances of their champions in the 
North. The owners of the Kentucky and New York 
stables, who were then furnishing nearlv all the turf 
attractions, were a little doubtful about the expei'iment 
of trying racing in the old Bay State, but made the 
venture in default of anything better offering. The 
meeting was measurably successful, but after all failed to 
lix the running turf in the affections of the Bostonians. 
The entries for this four days' meeting show vei'y well 



upon what stables and horses the tiuf was then depend- 
ing. Mr. John lUuiter was there with Sunshine, by 
B.ilrownie out of imported Comfort and Miss Jessie by 
Revenue; the Honorable /.eb Ward with a bay filly, by 
Lexington out of a dam bv Yorkshire, and Reporter, 
by Lexington oLit of a dam by Hclipse; Mr. P. C. Bush 
with Aerolite, by Revenue out of a dam by Rhoda, 
Cyclone by Vandal out of Marigold and Trovatore by 
Vandal out of Marigold; Mr. C S. Lloyd with Throgg"s 
Neck, by (jacker out of Sally Ward, Avalanche by 
Revenue, and Revenge by Monarch out of Fashion: l)i\ 
J. W. Weldon with Betty Ward by Lexington out of 
Whalebone; Captain T. G. Moore with Laura Paris and 
Idlewild. both by Lexington : Dr. Underwood with 
Emma by Logan, and Mr. I). Robbin with Wragram by 
Yorksliire. In a four-mile race, single dash, at this 
meeting Throgg's Neck made the very good time of 
7 minutes, S4''j seconds, over a course that was in very 
heavy condition. 

During the same year there were spring meetings in 
New York and Philadelphia. Most of the same stables 
were represented on these occasions, as in the Boston 
meeting. It is interesting to recall also that Philadelphia 
was like Boston in its devotion to the trotter and had 
never patronized the thoroughbred, save in occasional 
instances. At the Philadelphia meeting Mr. R. A. 
Alexandei' entered Ann Clark, by Lexington out of Kitty 
Clark by Glencoe, Bay Flower, by Lexington out of 
Bayleaf by imported Yorkshire and Norton bv l,exington 
out of Novice by Glencoe. The Honorable Zeb Ward 
presented Blondone by impoi'ted Sovereign out of a dam 
bv Glencoe. Colonel Campbell entered two Wagner colts 
and Mr. A. J. Minor entered two Balrownie colts. In 
the New York meeting, which lollowed the Philadelphia 
meeting by one week, the same horses that had appeared 
in Philadelphia and Boston, with others from Kentucky 
and New York stables, weie entered, including such 
cracks as Idlewild, Molly Jackson. Nicholas I., Solferino 
and otheis. These meetings are now of interest chielly 
from the tact that they were practically the last expiring 
manitestations of turf activity previous to the stag- 
nation that was to exist for the ensuing ten years. 



4t 



MODERN TURF DEVELOPMENT 



REVIVAL OF Racing After the Close of the Civil War— A Brilliant Period in the North— 

Anti-Race Track Legislation and its Effects — Entering Upon a 

New Career Under Changed Conditions 



WHEN we come to consider the progress of the 
turf in the United States during the last quar- 
ter of the nineteenth century, the tasi< is even 
more appalling in its magnitude than that 
undertaken in reviewing the earlier records. As we have 
already pointed out, in preceding chapters, the great dif- 
ficulty that lies in the way of evolving a thorough and 
reliable history of the American turf in the first century 
or more of its existence, arises from the fact that com- 
paratively little attention was given to the preservation 
of records in those times. This was most emphatically 
true of the time previous to 1800, and it is only measur- 
ably less so of most of the present century. Until well 
toward 1850 no one seemed to consider it worth while 
to gather the perishing records for permanent preserva- 
tion. To be sure, the Stud Book antedates that time and 
the pedigrees are substantially reliable back, perhaps, to 
the first quarter of the century- But pedigrees, however 
important to the breeder and professional turfite, consti- 
tute only a small part of the whole history of the turf 

To the general public, and to turfmen as well, the story 
of the great races and of the owners of olden times with 
the records of the various efforts that were made to 
stimulate and develop breeding and racing are quite as 
interesting and, from certain points of view, quite as 
valuable as the mere list of pedigrees. It is in these 
latter particulars that the history of the early turf is 
notably deficient. The periodical press, upon which we 
now mostlv relv for the preservation of the fieeting facts 
of the day for the benefit of posterity as well as for our 
own profit and enjoyment, was then almost unknown so 
far as it related to the turf. To be sure, as early as 1829, 
the publication of the monthly magazine, entitled The 
American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, was be- 
gun by Mr. John F. Skinner, of Baltimore. Although 
there was much valuable information in this periodical, 
it was not altogether reliable, nor did it pretend to any 
degree of thoroughness regarding the events of the turt 
during its existence. Moreover, it lasted only fifteen 
vears. For some two or three years Mr. Cadwalader 
R. Colden, of New York, who was well known as a 
writer about the turf over the signature of "An Old 
Turfman," published another sporting magazine that 
was very admirable in its way, howsoever inadequate 
and disappointing it was in its failure to cover the entire 



field. Some time in the thirties Mr. William T. Porter 
founded the first weekly sporting newspaper ever pub- 
lished in this country. The Spirit of the Times. More 
space was given in this paper to other kinds of sport 
than to racing, such as hunting, fishing, gaming, etc., 
but on the whole, the periodical entered upon an un- 
occupied field and became of very decided usefulness, 
in its columns, and in those of its successors, variously 
known as The Old Spirit, Porter's Spirit and Wilkes' 
Spirit, the delver tor information regarding the American 
turf down to the time of the Civil War, finds much that 
is valuable and interesting and out of which it is possible 
to construct a fairly accurate history of the turf of that 
period. Although breeding and racing assumed consid- 
erable proportions between 182=; and iSso, the sport 
was, generally speaking, in compact shape, that is, com- 
paratively few horses attained to great prominence, few 
breeders and owners were prominent, and the racing 
events, while of transcendent interest, were not notably 
numerous. It is. theiefore. not difficult to gain some- 
thing of a comprehensive view of the general condition 
of the sport in those generations. 

Coming down to the immediate present, the task of 
reviewing the progress of the turf ot the United States 
dui'ing this last quarter of the nineteenth century be- 
comes almost appalling in its magnitude. Racing has 
arisen to be one of the most popular forms of sport, and 
the gallant thoroughbred, as a subject of popular admir- 
ation, is scarcely second to the great operatic prima 
donna or the famous actress, in the aggregate, many 
thousands of persons are regular attendants upon the 
race meetings in the various parts of the country during 
the season, which is generallv considered to begin in 
May and end in November. Nor does this activity 
cease altogether with the autumn months. Such is the 
popular demand for the sport that it is almost impossible 
to satisfy it anywhere within reasonable limitation. As a 
result, winter racing has been instituted as a feature of 
several of the courses in the South and in California, 
and for a short time was even indulged in to a limited 
extent in the North, where, however, the spectacle of 
game blood horses tearing their way through mud and 
snow was anything but agreeable to admirers of the 
noble animal. But take it throughout the country, start- 
ing with New York in the North, since there is almost 



42 



THE AMERICAN TURF. 



no running known in the section fLiitlier Hast, and 
going througii the West, South, Southwest and to the 
Pacific Coast, it is scarcely exaggeration to say that 
liiere is practically no cessation in the beat of the 
thoroughbred's hoofs upon the traci< throughout the 
entire year. It is a common thing tor a thousand or 
more horses to be in training at a single one of the 
more important race tracks, and the total number of 
thoroughbreds of each season is almost beyond calcula- 
tion. 

The difficulties that lie in the way of even a compara- 
tively adequate review of the phenomenal activities con- 
nected with the taif in the present day must be apparent 
to everyone. V'oluines would be ret]uired and a lifetime 
of work would be called for to treat the subject compre- 
hensively and thoroughly. As it is, the Stud Book and 
the various turf guides are plethoric with information, 
which, however, is purely statistical, and does not pre- 
tend to give, in any sense whatsoever, a picture of the 
turf as it really exists, with the influences surrounding 
and guiding it and its position as a great national insti- 
tution. The miscellaneous literature of the subject has 
become something enormous. Daily newspapers give a 
great deal of their space to recording the movements of 
the thoroughbreds and of those who are interested in 
them, whether as owners, breeders, trainers, racing 
officials, or followers of the turf generally. Special 
periodicals devoted to the business have increased in 
number and in value, and it takes thousands of columns 
every year to even measurably record the turf activity of 
the period. 

With this superabundance of material at hand, while 
so much of it is of a desultory and ephemeral character, 
one may not hope within reasonable limitations of time 
and space to be able to present much more than a gen- 
eral idea of the prominence that turf affairs have assumed 
in contemporaneous times, or to more than merely 
touch upon some of its most salient features with the 
idea of fairly exhibiting its present status, the character 
of the gentlemen who are now conspicuously recog- 
nized as its supporters, the ups and downs of its career, 
some of the more notable and picturesque features that 
identify it, and the outlook for its future greatness. 
Looked at in this way, it becomes absorbingly interest- 
mg, not only to sportsmen, but also to the general 
reader, who is perhaps little concerned over long pedi- 
grees or tables of records. Certainly, the relation of the 
history of no national institution of this period could by 
any possibility be more fascinatingly interesting than 
that pertaining to the American turf. 

A revival of racing was not immediate after the close 
of the hostilities that had racked the North and South. 
The widespread destruction of important business and 
social interests that had been the inevitable result of that 



terrible contest made it impossible for communities to 
return at once to their former condition. Profound 
governmental and other questions that had arisen out of 
the struggle between the two sections remained so long 
unsettled that, as the history of the period shows us, the 
animosities between North and South were scarcely less 
violent than they were in the dark days when the ap- 
peal to the abitrament of arms was being considered, 
and when partisan passions raged fiercely. Moreover, 
the great breeding establishments of the South had gone 
with the general ruin that had swept over that section of 
the United States, while hundreds of the best thorough- 
breds had fallen upon the battle field. In years gone by 
the turf was really dependent for its existence upon these 
Southern stables and stud farms. Their loss now was 
seriously felt all over the country and was impossible of 
remedy, except by a slow and steady growth extending 
over many years of the future. 

Gradually, however, the atmosphere began to clear, 
business came back to its normal condition, men's 
minds turned more and more from the strife of arms 
and politics and sectional controversies, and they again 
found time to devote to the amenities of life. Among 
the inteiests that earliest felt the influence of this new 
national life, racing was most conspicuous. A few 
years had served to bring into existence almost a new 
race of thoroughbreds, principally based upon a few 
noble horses who had escaped the perils of war and the 
demands of military service. Yearlings from Kentucky, 
Tennessee and other great breeding States came out 
again, and although at first they were few in number, 
their presence indicated that a start had been made in the 
right direction. This gave abundant encouragement to 
those who were most hopeful of seeing a return of the 
glorious days of the old regime in racing. 

In the decade that included the period of the Civil 
War, particularly in its latter years, some of the greatest 
blood horses known to the American turf made their 
appearance. To a considerable extent they were the get 
of Lexington or Leamington, although other families 
continued to perpetuate themselves in a no wise unim- 
portant manner. Lexington, who had escaped falling a 
victim of the war, was again engaged in repopulating 
the paddocks and in introducing a new crop of sons and 
daughters who should perpetuate his fame even more 
grandly than those who had preceded them. Of Lexing- 
ton's sons, Kentucky. Asteroid and Norfolk had been 
first in the public eye. while Foster, Preakness. Harry 
Bassett, Monarchist and others were just at the begin- 
ning of their careers. War Dance had returned from 
exile in Texas to new and valuable service in the stud. 
Imported Australian was adding new strains to the old 
Lexington and other purely American blood that were 
soon to practically recreate the American thoroughbred. 



43 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Miiggie B. B., one ot'tlu' most v;ilujble biood in:ii'es ever 
known to the turf in the United States, saw the lii,fht in 
the latter sixties, while Eolus was just entering upon a 
brilliant and important career. Vandal threw Virtiil and 
other sons, and was taking a noble part in the recreation 
of the turf. 

Fnc|Liirer and t)ther sons of Leaniington weie giving 
abundant promise of I'ulure usefulness, while Billet, 
Glenelg, Mortemer and other representatives of the 
greatest Hnglish lamilies were arriving from abi'oad. and 
by their engagements in the stud opening a distinctly 
new as well as most important chapter in the annals of 
breeding on this side of the water. Well it might be that 
the genuine turfman ol this period I'egarded the sitLiation 
not only with complacency, but with a profound con- 
fidence that the brightest days that the noble sport had 
ever known were about to dawn. Nor, as history has 
since recorded, was this confideace in any wise prema- 
ture or misplaced. The older genei'ation of tuifmen had, 
to a considerable extent, passed away. Some of them, 
however, still lingered upon the scenes of their former 
tiiumphs, and were no less enthusiastic and enei'getic 
than in the days long gone by. The places in the ranks 
of those who had fallen out were more than filled by 
new accessions, and the public began to take an interest 
in racing matters such as it had scarcely ever before 
shown. And the equine champions of this period were 
in every lespect worthy of their ancestors and ec]ual to 
the demand that the public enthusiasm made upon them. 
___ Within five years after the Civil War had been brought 
' to a close men had found time to consider again the 
delights of the turf. This was the era of the Ameri- 
can Jockey Club at Jerome i^ark and the courses at 
Saratoga and Monmouth Park, all of which are more 
fully described in another chapter of this volume. These 
three courses in particular spi'ang at once into the full 
llower of public approval, and wei'e above all else the 
means of leading to the complete rehabilitation of the 
turf. Other courses in the vicinity of New York were 
opened at P.iterson and Secaucus, N. J., while running 
meetings w^-re held at Chicago, Narragansett Park. 
Springfield, Mass.; Boston, Columbus. O., and other 
places that had rarely, if ever before, seen jockeys in 
silken jackets, and that have not since then shown more 
than a passing admiration for the thoroughbred. 

Stimulated by this turf activity of the North, and also, 
of course, moved by their inherited predilection for the 
thoroughbred, the men of the South, those who had 
been identified with the turf lor a generation or more, 
as well as many younger men who were joining the 
ranks, took up again the work that they had laid down 
in '6i. Beginning to recover, at last, from the debilitat- 
ing effects of the internecine struggle in which they had 
been engaged, they turned their thoughts and their 



energies again to the old-time sport that had for a cen- 
tury and a half been characteiistic of the section of the 
country with which they were identified. Mobile had 
her Magnolia Course, New Orleans iier Metairie Course, 
Memphis her Chickasaw Jockey Club. Nashville her 
Blood Horse Association, Louisville her Woodlawn 
Course and Lexington her Association Course, around 
all of which the most delightful historic memories clus- 
tered, and that now returned to their former high estate. 
St. Louis organized the Laclede Jockey Club. (Cincinnati 
had her Buckeye Jockey Club, while Zanesville and 
Chillicothe, O.. and numerous other smaller places, were 
also becoming interested in the lunning horse and 
establishing courses where theie was always good 
racing to be seen. 

This growth of public interest in racing was steady 
and lapidlv enlarged in proportions from this time on. 
Localities where racing was introduced multiplied, such 
was the unbounded enthusiasm that had sprung up 
among people in all sections of the country. In the 
early years of the succeeding decade running meetings 
were fimly established in public favor in Nashville, New 
Orleans, Richmond, Lexington, Louisville, San Fran- 
cisco, Denver, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chilli- 
cothe, O. ; Chicago, Columbus, O. ; Philadelphia, 
Ogdensburg, N. Y. ; Helena, Mont., and elsewhere, 
while the great courses in the vicinity of New York City 
were at the height of their unprecedented popularity 
and success. The racing season had been already 
extended, so that on the regular and most important 
tracks it lasted with scarcely an interruption throughout 
the spring, summer and autumn. At the same time the 
demand for racing outside of the regular season was 
already beginning to show itself, so that they were here 
and there supplementary seasons that were scarcely sec- 
ond in interest to the more important and generally 
recognized meetings. 

It must not be thought, however, that all this advance- 
ment, pronounced though it was, was seen immediately, 
or its importance fully recognized until after long years 
had gone by and men were able to look back and con- 
sider the events of those times in the light of their rela- 
tions to each other and in their final results. A great deal 
of this newly manifested interest in the turf was, it must 
be confessed, of a somewhat spasmodic character and 
did not outlive the immediate period in which it first 
displayed itself. The great New York courses long main- 
tained their supremacy and exercised an enduring mllu- 
ence. In some other places that started in brilliantly and 
with great promise lor success there proved to be less 
endurance, and the sport was abandoned there almost as 
quickly as it had been taken up. 

Notwithstanding some favorable circumstances pecu- 
liar to the South, it required fully ten years after the 



44 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



C-ivil War liad closod to revive any pronounced uiterest 
in racing in tiiat part of tiie countiv or in the West, that 
was more or less inlluenced bv the South. The people 
who lived below the Mason and Dixon line had not yet 
recovered from the depressing effects of the sanguinary 
trouble that ended in 1X04, and thev were, on the whole, 
too fully engaged in seeking to restore their former com- 
mercial and indListrial welfare and in consideiing the 
grave political and governmental c]uestions that pressed 
to the fiont as an outcome of the war. They had little 
time, little money and little disposition for sport of any 
kind. With their country laid waste by the armies that 
had marched and fought over it, with their material 
possessions wasted and their lives to be begun all over 
again, it was the practical problems of the hour that 
confronted them. 

Something more than a day or a year was rec]uired to 
bring back the past and to open the way for a new Riture. 
Even as late as 1874 the racing events of the South and 
West were neither prominent nor valuable. New Orleans, 
Nashville and Lexington were the only places in which 
racing had as yet begun to assume anything like its 
ante-bellum proportions, and even in those places the 
supporters of the turf were not able to offer very great 
financial inducements to call horses of the first class to 
the courses supported by them. The events on those 
courses were mostly filled by local talent, or were some- 
times contributed to by breeders and owners in adjacent 
States. The Howard Sewanee, Phoenix Hotel and other 
stakes were not yet large enough to attract much out- 
side attention, nor was a victory ovei' the ticlds that 
generally ran for them considered of much importance. 
Attempts were made to start racing on a considerable 
.scale in Louisville, St. Louis, Chicago and elsewhere, but 
in no case did notable success attend the enterprises. 
Chicago tried to mix the incongruous elements of trotting 
and running with, of course, the inevitable failure that 
has ever attended such ill-advised attempts. The half a 
dozen seasons or more that the course was open there 
has scarcely left a memory, and certainly no important 
impress, upon the turf of the country. As for St. Louis, 
only the slightest attention was paid to the racing intro- 
duced there, for owners and breeders in other parts of 
the country found better engagements nearer at home. 
Even in Louisville there was manifest ditficulty in reviv- 
ing interest, despite the lact that that city was so near 
the great blue grass region. 

In North Carolina almost the lirst attempt to hold a 
running race after the war was at the State Fair in 
Raleigh in 1.872. The event is interesting as affording a 
striking illustration of the weakness of the turf in that 
State at that time, and it is also a fair illustration of the 
condition of things that generally prevailed then through- 
out the South. With difliculty even the semblance of a 



lace was aiianged. A chestnut colt, named Jack Roul- 
hac, a nameless, thoroughbred gray mare and a nameless 
gray colt were entered. The chestnut colt ran one and 
one-half miles in ^ minutes, 50 seconds, and was easily 
the winner. In ihe following year a few moie horses 
appeared upon a similar occasion, and Jack Roulhac was 
again at the head of the procession. In 187s, the annual 
race was contested by Jack Roulhac, Notre Dame (a bay 
mare by Lexington out of Novice) and Mary Long, a 
bay mare by Warminster. In 187s. there was some very 
good racing at the State Fair, and from th.it time on 
the condition of things began to steadily improve. In 
1872, Red Dick was the only thoroughbred stallion stand- 
ing in the State. 

A project for reviving racing in the South on a broad 
scale was started in the summer of 1872. Some of the 
leading turfmen of the country made an appeal to 
members of the old Charleston Jockey Club and the 
supporters of the turf in Macon. Savannah and Augusta. 
Recalling '• the happy hours spent under the old regime," 
they urged that measures should be taken to re-establish 
racing, particularly in the cities named, and pledged 
themselves to send their horses and to do all in their 
power to perpetuate the interest of racing throughout 
the old Southern circuit. Among the prominent owners 
and trainers who joined in this declaration were Colonel 
David McDaniel, Major T. G. Bacon, Major Thomas W. 
Doswell, Dr. J. W. Weldon, Mr. E. V. Snedeker, Mr. 
David McCoun, Captain W. M. Connor. Mr. Thomas 
r^uryear. Mr. H. P. McGrath, Mr. R. W. Walden and 
others to the number of twenty-five. 

Down even to the time of the early seventies, the 
glory that has compassed the turf in this generation was 
still in the future, despite the gratifying progress that 
had been made towards its revival and the llxed position 
that it had been able to attain in several localities. Not- 
withstanding the multiplication of race tracks, Lexington 
and Nashville in the Mississippi Valley and the American 
Jockey Club and Saratoga in the East, were the only 
ones that made anv pretense of offering substantial 
inducements to breeders and owners to do their part 
toward the development of the blood horse. Elsewhere 
there was little that made it worth the while of breeders 
to expand their business or to owners to subscribe 
to stakes. Those who have made the closest study of 
the historv of the turf scarcely need to have it pointed 
oLit to them that at the period v\'hich is here under con- 
sideration, by far the greater part of the important racing 
in the United States was upon the great Northern courses 
and one or two in the South. Elsewhere the racing, 
however interesting it might be and however suggestive 
of a great future, was. on the whole, of secondary im- 
portance and valuable mainly as a starting point, rather 
than as marking a positive and valuable achievement. 



45 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The great race courses of the North for several years 
monopolized public attention to a degree that was alto- 
gether to the disadvantage of other sections, temporarily 
at least, although of course the ultimate influence that 
went out from Northern institutions was beyond all 
question healthful. The rich stakes and prizes of the 
East drew all the first-class horses from other parts of 
the country, so that the local courses of the old-time 
racing region were practically denuded. Longfellow, 
Harry Bassett, Monarchist, Enquirer, Nellie Gray, Bonita, 
Tom Bowling, Vandalite and scores of other great cracks 
of that period could be counted upon for greater success 
and more money for their owners by running at Jerome 
Paik, Saratoga. Monmouth Park, Baltimore and else- 
where, than upon the courses nearer home, where, as 
yet, it was impossible to offer large purses. The longer 
this condition of things continued the lower fell the 
condition of the Southern turf so that ultimately, as has 
been pointed out by one authority, " the racing clubs of 
the South got poorer and poorer, while those of the East 
got licher and richer. Each coming year those of the 
South became less prominent, those of the East more 
prominent." 

When the Louisville Jockey Club was organized in 
187s it was with a distinct recognition of this condition 
of affaiis and the plan of opening valuable stakes to call 
back the great thoroughbreds to their native heath was 
inaugurated. The result was what might have been 
anticipated, and, in the years immediately following, 
racing on the Southern courses began to show new vigor, 
somewhat even at the expense of the turf at the North, 
which for a decade or more had enjoyed such unex- 
ampled prosperity. In the end affairs regulated them- 
selves so that a fair balance was maintained between the 
two sections, but for a time the struggle for supremacy 
was fierce and unyielding and engaged the energies and 
resources of turfmen everywhere to the fullest extent. 

The year of 1876 was a memorable one in the history 
of American racing. The revival of interests in turf 
matters had been by this time fully accomplished and the 
outlook for general prosperity during the centennial year 
of the Republic stimulated the expectations of every one 
connected with the sport. The outlook was most 
favorable for a large patronage upon racing meetings and 
for renewed activity among horsemen, while at the 
same time many great thoroughbreds were coming to 
the front whose performances seemed to justify the fullest 
expectations of those who looked forward to sport of 
an exceptionably important character. Such flyers as 
Bonaventure, King Alfonso, Aristides, Ten Broeck. 
Longfellow, Enquirer, Salina, Tom Bowling, Leander, 
Parole, Vagrant, Rhadamanthus, Viator, Sultana, Sun- 
burst, Fiddlestick, Brother to Bassett, Tom Ochiltree 
and a score of others were among those who were on 



the cards, some of them having already become of 
approved merit, while others, who have since attained 
to fame, had yet their laurels to earn. Four hundred 
and twelve races were run at the recognized meetings at 
Jerome Park, Long Branch, Saratoga, Baltimore, Wash- 
ington, Philadelphia, Lexington, Louisville, Nashville, 
Cincinnati, New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston, Austin 
and San Francisco. The minor meetings may be left 
out of consideration, for they did not have a serious 
influence upon the turf although the number of races 
run in connection with them would largely augment 
this quota. 

Of these four hundred and twelve races, two hundred 
and eighty-four were dashes of from one-half a mile to 
four miles distance, while eighty-five were heats, twenty 
hurdle races and twenty-three steeplechases. The total 
amount of money run in stakes and prizes amounted to 
$371,150. The prominent owners who paiticipated in 
these events were Messrs. August Belmont, Pierre 
Lorillard, George L. Lorillard, H. P. McGrath, Dwyer 
Brothers, M. H. Littell, E. A. Clabaugh, Frank Harper, 
J. A. Grinstead, A. Keene Richards, E. J. Baldwin, 
Governor Bowie and Captain McDaniel. When the 
season was ended the record showed that in many re- 
spects the tui'f performances had been the most remarka- 
ble ever witnessed in this country. Unprecedented 
speed was shown by horses of every age and several 
records were substantially reduced. Palmetto, the two- 
year old daughter of Narragansett, equaled the best 
distance by a two-year old at Js of a mile, Rhadamanthus 
sharing with her the honor of the i minute, 3/2 seconds, 
that he made a month previous in the same year. Belle 
of the Meade twice ran a one mile dash in i minute, 44'^ 
seconds, and was ranked as one of the best daughters of 
imported Bonnie Scotland. First Chance, a five-year 
old, made the best time, i minute, 15 seconds, for % of a 
mile. Vigil, the three-year-old son of Virgil, ran 2 miles 
in ^ minutes, 37^4! seconds, the best race at this distance, 
weight and age, and Brother to Bassett, the same age 
with 1 10 pounds up, ran the same distance in 3 minutes, 
3s seconds. Aiistides, son of imported Leamington, ran 
2'8 miles in 3 minutes, 45 seconds, and 2>2 miles in 4 
minutes, 27>ii seconds, both the fastest, time ever made 
at the respective distances. Ten Broeck reduced time 
on three occasions, first, when he made lyk miles in 
4 minutes, 583^ seconds; second, when he ran 3 miles 
in 5 minutes, 26^4^ seconds, and third, when he beat 
down the record for 4 miles to 7 minutes, 15^ seconds. 

In citing these extraordinary performances, the point 
was constantly and firmly made, and scarcelv denied, 
that the horses appearing in this year were far superior 
to those of any former period. Accepting this view of 
the case, it becomes interesting to note as a striking indi- 
cation of the constantly improving quality of our thor- 



46 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



oughbreds, that even these record-breaking feats, which 
were considered, in their day. phenomenal, have since 
then been many times surpassed by having many sec- 
onds knocked off of them. The only two records that 
have maintained their place during the more than twenty 
years that have elapsed since they were placed are those 
of Aristides' 4 minutes, 2iyi seconds for two and one- 
half miles, and Ten Broeck's 4 minutes, 58^^ seconds for 
two and tlve-eighths miles. It is also significant of the 
growing interest that characterized turf affairs at that 
period that there was no falling off in the ensuing year 
as regards the entries and other general preparations for 
the season. This was especially gratifying when it was 
considered that the extraordinary features connected 
with the observance of centennial year had a natural 
tendency to stimulate an exceptional activity in the turf 
world, as in other affairs, that engaged the attention of 
the pleasure-seeking public. The conclusion was irre- 
sistible that the American turf was firmly established 
upon more solid ground than ever before, and that the 
interest of sportsmen and of the public generally could 
no longer be considered of a trifiing or ephemeral nature. 
The character of the attendance upon race meetings had 
also reached a higher plane than ever before, having, 
in this respect, shown a steady and gratifying improve- 
ment for a decade past, and holding out equal promise 
for the future. 

Looking over the field as it existed at this particular 
time, one can scarcely fail to be profoundly impressed 
with this aspect of general development and the univer- 
sally high standing to which, at last, the turf had 
attained in nearly every part of the country. The 
revival that had been eagerly looked forward to and 
persistently labored for had been a long time in com- 
ing, but it had finally arrived, and in a way that 
delighted all who were in any way concerned for the 
welfare of the blood horse or eager to raise the turf to 
a position of national importance. It was particularly 
between 1875 and 1880 that exceptional changes were 
taking place in the status ot racing. The record of 1876, 
as we have just pointed out, was exceptionally brilliant, 
but it was surpassed, in some respects, in the years 
immediately following. Some definite idea of the char- 
acter of this remarkable development may be gained by 
caj:eful_examination of some of the most important turf 
fixtures of the country for several successive years about 
this time. These will demonstrate, more than any argu- 
ment or lengthy dissertation possibly can to what ex- 
tent jockey clubs and horse associations were growing 
in power and infiuence and how responsive horsemen 
were becoming to the liberal inducements that were held 
out to them from various quarters. 

A comparison of the stakes and entries at the principal 
courses in the country for the closing years of this decade 



is certainly instructive. The recapitulation will give a 
reasonably fair idea of the status of the turf in that par- 
ticular period. On some accounts the presentation would 
seem to be much more favorable than it might have been 
in other years, for the reason of the advantageous condi- 
tions that attached to 1876 as being our first centennial 
year, the members of jockey clubs and racing associations 
seeming then to unite in special efforts in the interests of 
the sport. Nevertheless, these figures, even though 
somewhat incomplete, may be accepted as giving, at 
least, a reasonably fair suggestion of the condition of the 
turf as it existed ten years after the close of the Civil 
War and a little more than two decades ago. There is 
suggestion, also, in the discovery that notwithstanding 
the unexampled activity of the centennial year, the years 
immediately following showed at all points of compari- 
son a very marked and gratifying increase. 

In 1876, the Louisville Jockey Club had 14 stakes for 
which there were 366 entries, the same stakes having 
375 entries in the following year and 392 in 1878. The 
Kentucky Association had 11 stakes with 166 entries in 
1S76, 14 stakes with 291 entries in 1877 and 15 stakes 
with 304 entries in 1878. The Nashville Blood Horse 
Association, in 1876, closed 9 stakes with 192 entries, 12 
stakes with 244 entries in the following year and 13 
stakes with 228 entries in 1878. The Queen City Jockey 
Club had 84 entries for 4 stakes in 1876, 5 stakes with 79 
entries in 1877, and 5 stakes with iii entries in 1878. 
The three stakes of the Louisiana Jockey Club had 3s 
entries in 1876 and 29 in 1877; with i stake added in 
1878 there were 32 entries. The Columbus Jockey Club, 
against 3 stakes with 43 entries in 1877, had 5 stakes 
with 78 entries in 1878. The Maryland Jockey Club also 
showed a gratifying increase during these three years, 
its stakes for 1876 being 9 in number with 212 entries, 
in 1877, 10 with 274 entries, and in 1878, 13 with }^} 
entries. 

On the other hand there was a distinct falling off in 
the business of the two great Northern courses at Sara- 
toga and Jerome Park. Saratoga, which, in 1876, had 
closed 10 stakes with 355 entries and in 1877, the same 
stakes, with 506 entries, could now command only 347 
entries for its 10 events. The American Jockey Club's 
presentation showed, however, the most alarming deca- 
dence. At Jerome Park there were 16 stakes in 1876 
with 579 entries, while in the following year there were 
77s entries for the same stakes. In 1878. however, the 
Maturity, Home Bred Produce and Maryland Stakes were 
dropped and the remaining fixtures only called out 481 
entries. The St. Louis Jockey Club came into the field 
with nine stakes, for which there were 237 entries, and 
the Association at Monmouth Park was revived and had 
408 entries for its 12 stakes. Altogether the record for 
these three years showed in its grand total a gratifying 



47 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



increase, the entries, wliich were 1,983 in 1876 and 
2,611 in 1877, risintj in 1878 to 2,989. A statement of 
tile numluT of races run and tlieir value for several years 
also sliows tlie wonderful development of tlie period. 
in 1874, there were 9S0 races run. of tlie vaUie of 
$496,772; in 1875, 866 races of the value of $490,649; in 

1876, 782 races of the value of $485,509. With 1877, the 
advance became very noticeable and continued there- 
after. Ill that year 907 races were run, valued at 
$441, 6S2; in 1878, 1,058 races, valued at $461,395 and 
in 1879, 1,221 races were run, valued at $545,064. In 

1877, fully 1,000 horses started; in 1878, the number 
had increased to nearly 1,400, while in the following 
year it ran up to over 1,500. At the same time the 
number of brood mares in the country was about 2,100, 
while the stallions numbered over 300 and the annual 
number of foals was estimated at fully 1,400. 

At this point in our retrospect of the turf due consider- 
ation must be given to California and its contributions to 
the history of the blood horse. It would be an agreea- 
ble task to go exhaustively into this particular branch of 
the subject, for, notwithstanding coming late into the 
field, California has already had a pait in the turf history 
of the United States that, considering the few years 
covered by it, scarcely holds second rank to any other 
State or section. In its earliest days the Golden State 
manifested little disposition for the race horse, whether 
of the trotting or the running family. Californians were 
engrossed in the all-absorbing search for gold and enei- 
getically engaged in other practical operations, so that 
for the time being rational sporting, that retjuired years 
for its full development, could scarcely be expected to 
meet with appreciation. This condition of affairs, how- 
ever, was not destined long to continue. The large 
fortunes that were soon accumulated in the hands of the 
California pioneers enabled their fortunate possessors to 
find a relaxation in one of the most engi'ossing as well 
as one of the most expensive sports. 

Even before the Civil War California had gone in for 
racing to some extent. The people there were, however, 
in those early days more concerned in the trotter than in 
the thoroughbred, and trotting matches became Ire- 
quent on tracks that sprung up all over the State— first 
in San Francisco, and afterward in other principal cities 
and towns. After the war interest in racing of both 
kinds revived in California, as well as elsewhere in the 
country, and soon took the form of an increased develop- 
ment in the direction of thoroughbred performances. 
Until 1873. however, there was no regular organization 
for the advancement of sports of the turf in San Francisco, 
which was naturally the dominent racing centre of the 
Pacific Coast. Racing had been conducted up to that 
time purely as a private business enterprise, backed by 
individual sportsmen. As far back as 1865, when Nor- 



folk defeated Lodi, there had been some good racing 
from time to time, but few, if any, really great events 
that could attract much, if anything, more than mere 
local attention. However, racing continued in San 
Francisco and at a few other points in this somewhat 
desultory fashion for the next six or eight years. 

It was, then, in 1873 that the first organized effort was 
made to give direction to turf affairs on the Pacific 
Coast. In the spring of that year the Pacific Jockey 
Club sprang into existence. Mayor Andrew]. Bryant, a 
successful business man, partial to the turf and well 
known in the community as a man of standing, became 
president. A purse of $25,000 was hung up by the 
club for a four-mile and repeat race open to all comers, 
and in this Joe Daniels, Hubbard and Thad Stevens, 
famous California horses, and True Blue, a good Eastern 
flyer, contended. It was subsequently charged that 
this race was fixed in the interest of Thad Stevens and 
Joe Daniels, and when, in 1S74. a purse of $2^.000 was 
hung up for a similar event, the same charges that the 
race was fixed were also made. .Another tour-mile heat 
race for $30,000. postponed fVom November. 187s, was 
run in February, 1876. and engaged the attention of such 
champions as Mr. M. A. Little's Foster. Mr. E. J. Bald- 
win's Rutherford. Mr. J. C. Simpson's Hock Hocking, 
Mr. A. S. Gage's Katie Pease, Mr. M. A. Walden's 
Revenue, Jr., Mr. Joseph H. Daniel's Golden Gate, and 
Mr. H. Welch's Chance. Grinstead, Wildidle, Spring- 
bok and Fanny Hall were .also entered, but did not run. 
The purse was carried off by Foster in two straight 
heats in 7 minutes, 98?^ seconds and 7 minutes, 53 
seconds. There was the same dissatisfaction with this 
race as with those that had preceded it, and gradually 
turfmen in other parts of the country became impressed 
with the idea that racing affairs in California were not 
conducted in a manner calculated to reflect credit upon 
the sport, or to warrant those who were most interested 
in the elevation of the general standard of racing to give 
their countenance to it. 

It was some years before the Eastern turfmen regained 
their confidence to the extent of becoming patrons of 
the track in the Golden State. In recent times, how- 
ever, under the supervision of a different class of men 
from those who were identified with it in the early 
seventies, the turf on the Pacific Coast has assumed an 
importance second to that in no other part of the 
country. Courses are now numerous, especially in 
California; the purses and stakes are of a generous 
character that has made them attractive to the best 
thoroughbreds in the country, and the general manage- 
ment of affairs there has been, on the whole, as enter- 
prising and as sportsmanlike as could be asked for. 
Some of the greatest stock farms in the country, not 
surpassed in extent or importance by any of those in 



48 




THE AMERICAN TURF 



/KcntLicky oi' luither East, have been established, among 
^ them being the great Rancho del Paso of Mr. J. B. Hag- 
gin and the i^alo Alto of the late Senator Leland Stan- 
lord. pLirther East, but still relatively in the Far West, 
we must count the Bitter Root Stock Farm of Mr. 
Marcus Daly at Hamilton, Mont. Such men as the late 
Sepator George Hearst, the Honorable Leland Stanford, 
m. J. B. Haggin, Mr. E. J. Baldwin, and many others 
not of less distinction have given the California turf the 
highest standing in recent years. To sunny California 
have gone some of the greatest American thoroughbreds 
of the period, among them Salvator, Firenzi, Ben Ali, 
Ban Fox, King Fox and others. 

The later importations, such as Leamington, Bonnie 
Scotland, Australian, Glenelg and Phaeton, that have 
made such a distinct impression upon the American 
thoroughbred of this generation, shortly began to come 
to the front in a strong manner, the full fruition of their 
labors havingbeenseen in more recent times. Leamington, 
however, had quite established himself by the success of 
his son — Parole — in England, and the work of others of 
his progeny in the United States. The dislike of him, 
that was felt by many on account of the apparent deli- 
cacy or want of constitution in his stock, fast disap- 
peared, in view of his success when he encountered the 
rugged crosses of the old American stock, his fine racing 
ciualities attaining the best results in conjunction with 
more substance and constitution. His sons, Aristides, 
Lyttleton, Lynchburg and Enquirer, also earned golden 
opinions for themselves and their sire. Longfellow, 
too, had some good performers, and Ten Broeck was 
perpetuating in the stud the fame of his sire, imported 
Phaeton. Imported Australian, who had always stood 
in the shadow of Lexington's greatness, was beginning 
to be recognized more and more at his true value, and 
was making it clear that the Australian line was bound 
to be quite as permanently linked with the futiare great- 
ness of the turf in the United States as that of any impor- 
tation in modern times. 

Several years ago it was remarked that in no decade in 
the history of horse racing in this or any other country 
had there been witnessed such a remarkable growth as 
that which had been seen in the United States during the 
preceding ten years or more, beginning, say, in the later 
seventies and extending well toward 1890. During this 
time it seemed as though it was almost impossible to 
satisfy the public with racing. New jockey clubs and 
horse associations were organized all over the country, 
and there were few important cities that did not have 
one or more new courses opened, while the historic 
racing centres, whose history extended back over a gen- 
eration, seemed about to renew their youth. The horses 
that were in training had doLibled, tripled and quad- 
rupled in number, and wealthy sportsmen were again 



contributing with their money and influence to the 
breeding and running of the thoroughbred. This unex- 
ampled growth really started in the later seventies, abun- 
dant proof of which is derived from the records for those 
years to which we have just referred. 

In a measure this development was a reflex of the 
phenomenal activity that marked the history of that rac- 
ing period in the sixties which was so considerably 
dominated by the famous American Jockey Club. The 
lurf received a considerable setback from the financial 
panic of 1873, but soon afterward began to recover with 
a bound. Although this renewed activity was seen in a 
great measure in many widely separated parts of the 
country, it was especially notable in the North. The 
Monmouth Park Association, which had fallen some 
what from its earlier high estate, came under new man- 
agement, and its course was so improved that the varied 
attractions which it offered and the wholesome change 
in the character of its directors attracted an attendance 
larger and of a better class of people than ever before in 
its history. Old habitues still recalled with pleasure the 
famous inaugural at Long Branch in 1870, when the 
Americus Club, led by the valiant William M. Tweed, 
and headed by the Seventh Regiment Band did honor to 
the occasion, but later supporters of Monmouth felt that 
the famous course was in worthier hands than ever be- 
fore, and better calculated to advance the interests of 
high-class sport. 

The American Jockey Club, which had not been quite 
able to maintain the pace that it had set for itself and for 
all its rivals, or to quite hold through all these years to 
the brilliant social character that originally distinguished 
it, felt the impulse of the new order of things and was 
roused to life and activity, so that its meetings were 
made more interesting and important than they had been 
for many years. A new rival to the old courses about 
New York was established in the Coney Island Jockey 
Club, with its admirable grounds, at Sheepshead Bay. 
Some of the gentlemen who had helped to make the 
success of Jerome Park were the promoters of this new 
enterprise, and their wisdom in turf affairs was fully 
demonstrated by the inauguration of some of the great 
fixtures that have since become historic and are now 
recognized as among the supreme attractions of the turf 
in this country. 

In the South and West and on the far-away Pacific 
Coast turfmen continued to come forward in increas- 
ing numbers, and race courses in those sections carried 
on the sport in a generally enterprising and admirable 
manner that contributed to the enjoyment of those who 
loved to see the thoroughbred in his best performances. 
Nevertheless, it still remained indisputable that, for com- 
pleteness and perfection of appointments, care and thor- 
oughness of management and the unexceptionably high 



49 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



character of racing that was constantly offered, no courses 
in the country surpassed those of Jerome Park, Mon- 
mouth Park and Sheepshead Bay. The supremacy of 
New York— which had been unchallenged ever since the 
American Jockey Club, Saratoga, and their competitors 
entered the field — was more generally conceded than it 
had been at any preceding period in the history of North- 
ern racing. Under the favoring conditions that then ex- 
isted the turf of New York became so firmly fixed in its 
royal position at the head of the line that it has been able 
without difficulty to hold itself there ever since. It may 
sometimes seem to the casual observer that the turf his- 
torians of this period are inclined to give undue prominence 
to that branch of the subject pertaining particularly to 
New York. A little thought, however, and even a cur- 
sory examination will show that the North, in every 
respect save that of breeding, had taken the place that 
was occupied by the South and the West in the first half 
of the century. The great stud farms are still retained in 
the section of which Kentucky is the centre, and in 
California and nearly all of that branch of the turf business 
still pertains to those localities. In every other respect, 
however, New York dominates and has long dominated, 
the turf of the country. 

it would be an agreeable task to trace further, year by 
year, the career of the American thoroughbred and the 
events of the race course by which he has madi; himself 
celebrated in the third decade of the period to which 
consideration is here being given. The futuie historian 
will find there much that is interesting and valuable. 
These times are so near to us that they are still fresh in 
mind, and are not yet far enough I'emoved to be regarded 
discriminatingly and impassionately from the purely his- 
torical point of view. The career of the turf in the 
eighties was not altogether as satisfactory as its most 
ardent admirers and supporters could wish, but there 
were brilliant years when great horses gave as 
wonderful displays of their mettle as had ever been seen, 
and such active millionaire owners as Messrs. Belmont, 
Hearst, Scott, Haggin, Lorillard, Cassett and others, 
were foremost in the pursuit of turf honors. In the 
early part of this decade the sport was represented by 
such distinguished owners as Messrs. August Belmont, 
George L. Lorillard, Leonard W. Jerome, Pierre Lorillard, 
Dwyer Brothers, and others of New York; J. A. Grin- 
stead, H. P. McGrath, J. Jackson, B. G. Thomas and 
others of Kentucky; J. B. Malone, J. S. McCall, J. G. 
Greener and others of Tennessee; O. Bowie, P. A. 
Lynch, E. A. Clabaugh, and others of Maryland; T. W. 
Doswell, of Virginia; E.J. Baldwin, of California; and 
representatives of such other States as Missouri, Illinois. 
Louisiana, New Jersey, Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas, 
Ohio and Pennsylvania. In one particular year, 1881, 
there were ninety-three establishments, representing 



nineteen States, engaged at Saratoga alone for the sum- 
mer meeting at that popular resort. Over 1,200 horses 
were then in training in these stables, and during the 
season fully 700 horses were run in the East. 

By reason of death or otherwise, several of the most 
energetic and most useful supporters of the turf in the 
North and West were withdrawn from the field, and, 
for the time being, the much dreaded spirit of commer- 
cialism that has so frequently forced its way upon the 
race course, much to the detriment of the sport, began 
to make its periodic appearance. Later on, however, 
the ranks of the genuine turfman were reinforceed by 
fresh blood and by the return of some of the older 
leaders, who, for a time, had been conspicuous by their 
absence. The accessions were numerous and important, 
among them being such gentlemen as Messrs. William 
Astor, Frank A. Ehret, Marcus Daly, Foxhall Keene, A. 
F. Walcott, Pierre Lorillard, Jacob Ruppert, Charles 
Fleischman, August Belmont, Perry Belmont, Oliver H. 
P. Belmont, and the Dwyer Brothers. This was the era 
particularly of such famous cracks as Eole, Miss Wood- 
ford, Loisette. George Kinney, Drake Carter, Leo, Bob 
Miles. Himalaya, Freeland, Bushwacker, Leonatus, 
Badge, Hindoo, and his son Hanover, Kingston, and 
others whose names are legion. 

Soon there developed what has been fairly de- 
nominated as "the high priced period of the Ameri- 
can turf," when gentlemen of unlimited wealth vied 
with each other in forming large stables and in paying 
big prices for thoroughbreds, both of native and of 
foreign product. The almost incalculable benefit derived 
by the turf from the enterprise of these public spirited 
gentlemen scarcely need be dwelt upon in detail here. 
The labois of such eminent turfmen as Messrs. Belmont, 
Withers. Haggin, Lorillard, Scott. Thompson, and 
scores of others, will live long in memory, and will for- 
ever be recognized as the most potent influences that 
have led up to and brought about the condition of the 
turf to-day. It was common to pay thousands for 
horses then, where hundreds had been paid before, and 
our men of means seemed to be in a fair way to emu- 
late the spirit of their forefathers, and to follow the 
examples of so many of their English cousins, with 
whom racing is not only a passion but a dignified pur- 
suit as well. Some of these new found allies lost their 
interest shortly, but their ventures had due effect and 
must be regarded as valuable contributions to the turf 
activity of the period. 

In this connection we may not pass over without, at 
least, brief reference the dispersal of several large stables 
that were features of this period, and that in many ways 
were suggestive of the new aspect that turf affairs were 
taking, particularly from the financial point of view. 
The sale of the Nursery stud of Mr. August Belmont 



50 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



in iSqi was perhaps the most important in the 
list of these affairs. It showed a magnificent collection 
of the choicest thoroughbred blood that money could 
bring together, and fetched the aggregate sum of $630,- 
soo, a total that exceeded that of the famous breaking- 
up sale of the late Lord Falmouth's stud in ICSS4 by some 
$70,000, although the average of the English sportsman's 
sale was somewhat higher than that of Mr. Belmont's. 
Nor must we overlook the sale of Mr. Frank A. Ehret's 
horses in i8q2. The meteor-like career of Mr. Eliret's 
stable closed with appropriate glory. Mr. Ehret was on 
the turf only a few years, but he owned some of the 
most valuable horses then in training. His Don Alonzo, 
by Long Taw out of Round Uance, fetched $30,000. The 
famous Dobbins, then an untried yearling, was sold for 
$20,200. Yorkville Belle, whose performances for the 
" white, red cap, star and cuffs " were among the sensa- 
tions of the two-year old class in 1892, fetched $24,000. 
Fairy, by Argyle out of Fairy Rose by Kisber, sold for 
$10,000. Sir Fi'ancis. by imported Mr. Pickwick out of 
Thora by Longfellow, for $26,000; Runyon, by Longfel- 
low out of Fanfare by imported King Ernest, for $13,- 
100: Bowers, by imported Great Tom out of Moselle by 
jack Malone, for $13,^00; and Young Arion, by Miser out 
of Glencairne by Glenelg, were among the highest 
priced horses on this occasion. The total amount of the 
sale for nineteen horses and seven yearlings was $223,- 
250. The sale of the Algeria stud of the Honorable 
William L. Scott, of Pennsylvania, antl that of the Fern- 
cliffe stud, of Mr. William Astor, also were features of 
this period of big stables and high prices. 

Undoubtedly the publicity that was given to the prices 
which wealthy sportsmen were willing to pay for 
thoroughbreds of distinction or of promise, the increas- 
ing number and value of stakes and purses offered at 
tile principal race tracks and the large sums of money 
which it was possible for a well managed stable to carry 
off, had the effect of attracting to the turf many men who 
entered the ranks of racing purely as a business. Before 
many years had passed away this developed a con- 
siderable change in turf affairs, whether for good or for 
ill only the future may be able to reveal. Nowadays 
with a few notable exceptions, racing is a business with 
the majority of stable owners. While the turf still 
remains the playground of the wealthy leisure classes, it 
is also the theatre of operation for those who recognize 
its possibilities from the purely financial point of view. 
One result of this has been to increase the importance 
of the breeding business to much larger proportions than 
ever before and to add to its profits. Furthermore, the 
race-going public is provided with a healthful, pleasant 
and exciting recreation and is pr t. J to witness 
more brilliant turf performances tha;, :ii tite past. At 
the same time, while the management of jockey clubs 



and associations and the direction of turf affairs generally 
remains as it does in the hands of gentlemen who are 
inspired by their love for the "sport of kings," rather 
than by thoughts of the money to be made therefrom, 
it is difficult to see how the fact that a racing stable may 
become a profitable enterprise can have a deleterious 
effect. 

It is also this busine.ssside of the case that has brought 
about one of the most marked changes in racing in 
recent times, and that is the increase in races and the 
shortening of distances. Nothing more clearly empha- 
sizes the difference between the turf as it exists to-day 
and as it was in previous generations, than the change 
from the old three and four-mile heat racing to the 
shortei' dashes that now dominate the race course. Out 
of this has naturally grown important changes in breed- 
ing and training that have had undoubted effect upon 
the general character of the native race horse. In early 
days, as we have many times had occasion to remark, 
turfmen and turf patrons held in the utmost contempt 
races that were shorter than heats of one, two, three and 
four miles. No stallion could attain to any degree of 
popular favor unless he could maintain himself in long 
races. Hence, supreme attention was given to the pro- 
duction of thoroughbreds who could combine endurance 
with the highest rate of speed, and it was not uncommon 
for the horses of those days to be able to run even twelve, 
sixteen or twenty miles in a single race. They had 
vast recuperative power also and lasted many years 
before their final retirement. 

Now, however, the short dash is the thing. The 
change as to distances was at first gradual, dashes in 
the long races being substituted for heats. Next the 
cup distance, which was 2^X miles, was made a favorite. 
For a decade or more in the first part of the present 
period every race course of prominence had its cup event 
and cup winners became almost as much a class by 
themselves as were the old four-milers. This particular 
race held decided prominence during many years, 
but now its absence is marked. Step by step followed 
the further reduction of distances until finally races for 
fractional parts of a mile have become predominant. 
As a result of this new condition of things the two-year 
old is the all-important factor at the present time. For 
him the richest prizes are offered and the whole ten- 
dency of racing is to encourage the production of the 
spirited, speedy youngster, who can sprint as fast as the 
wind. No longer is the well seasoned, sturdy old horse, 
who has passed to full maturity, accorded the first place 
in the affections of the multitude or in the desires of the 
turfmen. As a rule, to be "aged" is now to have 
passed beyond the line of desirability. 

Moreover relatively fewer horses now than before 
become "aged" ere the race course has ceased to 



Sr 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Commnnd them. The demands that are made upon the 
younjisters wear them out in shorter time than did the 
demands made upon their forefathers. But they are no 
less fondly remembered than they would be if they were 
able to do their four miles and repeat. An animal that 
is successful in his two-year old and his three-year old 
forms can now reap richer rewards than those who were 
able to stay for four-mile heats a quarter of a century and 
more ago. Even though the severity of his training 
and his work should so overtax his powers that he is 
never able to race again, he could if he had the reasoning 
intelligence console himself with the thought that he 
will be forever remembered as one of the world's great 
race horses. Pi obably Tremont, the unbeaten black whirl- 
wind, Salvator, and Tenny, not to invidiously neglect 
to mention others, who have had short but brilliant turf 
careers, will occupy as high a position in the temple of 
equine fame and be as long remembered as any ot the 
great champions, like Boston, Black Maria, Trifle, 
Lecomte and others of that class. It is no slight 
work that is put upon these youngsters, and they are 
fully entitled to all the renown that comes to them. 
Commonly they run in single seasons more races than 
their forefathers did in an entire lifetime. It is by no 
means extraordinary for them to run twenty, thirty, or 
even forty races in a year, which is alone enough for a 
strong horse's entire career. 

Out of this conspicuous moditication in the charactei' 
of racing has arisen a demand for the yearling such as 
was not dreamed of thirty or forty years or more ago, 
and this demand has resulted in very pronounced changes 
in methods of breeding and has affected the entire busi- 
ness of raising thoroughbreds. With horses as with 
everything else, from the commercial point of view, the 
supply must meet the demand, and the new demand 
having been created, it was inevitable that those whose 
business it is to supply the tuif with its race horses 
should make their plans accordingly. Therefore, we 
have had to an unexampled degree the development of 
the young and speedy sprinter and the increasing impor- 
tance of the yearling, who by reason of the royal blood 
of his sire and dam, gives promise of bringing a fortune 
to his owner in his two-year old or three-year old form. 
Yearling sales have become prominent features of 
every season and may be considered to be quite as in- 
dicative of the character of the turf of the period as are 
the race meetings that are more conspicuously in the 
eye of the public. Year by year these yearling sales 
have been growing more numerous, more important, 
from the amount of money that is involved in them, and 
more significant of the temper of the racing community. 
A yearling is something of a gamble to be sure, for he 
may turn out to be utterly worthless, but his possession 
really offers the only chance for the great prizes of the 



turf, and, if he shall be a winner, the profits on the 
speculation are so far and away beyond the risk that no 
one with the true instincts of a sportsman can do other- 
wise than make the venture. A few instances may be 
cited of some of these profitable transactions, but it will 
be unnecessary to multiply them since a greater number 
than it would be possible to set down here must come 
involuntarily to the mind of every turfman the moment 
the suggestion of the subject is made. Sally McClelland 
cost Mr. Byron McClelland $2,500. She was a chestnut 
yearling filly by Hindoo out of Red and Blue, and, in 
1890, won for her owner, $s6,ooo. As a yearling the 
Messrs. Morris paid $62^ for Russell, who won for them 
as a two-year old. $s6. 125, and as a three -year- old, 
,'|!is,sq5. which all will admit was a very handsome 
profit on the investment. Eclipse, who was sold from 
the Rancho del Paso in 1889 for $300, brought home in 
i8qo, $12,278. His Highness, for whom Mr. David 
Gideon paid $5,400 in 1890, returned to his owner in 
stakes and purses the following year, $107,285. 

So it seems that this steadily increasing demand for 
yearlings, based on the expectation or hope of their 
great performances in the ensuing two or three years, 
has had the result of stimulating prices and of making 
the business of breeding more than ever profitable. 
These yearling sales are comparatively of modern incep- 
tion, really going back only to the sixties, as the time 
when they assumed anything of prominence. It is in- 
teiesting to recall from the old records some of the prices 
that were paid for other unknown yearlings that subse- 
qLiently became horses of the highest fame. In 1868, 
from the Woodburn Stud, Preakness was sold for$2,ooo, 
Chillicothe for $i,72s. Kingfisher for $490, Foster for 
$58s, Grecian Bend for $2,000, and Annette for $600. 
The following year Monarchist was sold for $1,900, 
Harry Bassett for $315, Salina for $450, and Wanderer 
for$325. Acrobat, in 1872, brought $2,025, and Ruther- 
ford, $1,300. Attila, who sold for $500, and Ballankeel, 
for $750, were very nearly if not quite equal to Acro- 
bat or Rutherford. Tom Ochiltree, as a yearling, brought 
$500, and Katie Pease $S20, the latter turning out to be 
the best two year old in the West. Mr. Pierre Lorillard 
paid $780 for Parole, and his brother, Mr. G. L. Lorillard, 
got the Duke of Magenta for §1,750. 

Spendthrift, who ranked among the best horses of his 
period, cost $1,000, and Monitor $1,600, while Ferida 
cost only $325, a sum that she earned many times over. 
Foxhall. who lowered the colors of the best English and 
French horses, was sold as a yearling for $650, while 
Luke Blackburn brought $tIO and Glenmore $7is. At 
the sale of the Nursery Stud in 1891, twenty-four year- 
lings brought $124,550, some of them running as high 
as $30,000, while the foals, not yet separated from their 
dams, commanded altogether more than $30,000. Con- 



52 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



tr;ist these prices with those that were paid for the fjet of 
some of the older stallions. The last of Lexington's 
yearlings, live in number, were sold in i<S77, and aver- 
aged $1,379 against twelve of Leamington'sat $1, 174. 16. 
In 1878, Virgil's yearlings brought an average of $1,21 5.83 
each and Leamington's yearlings the same year $1, 1 17.91. 
in 1879, the last of Australian's get, four in number, 
brought $1,400 each. Instances might be multiplied almost 
indefinitely showing the almost incredible differences 
between the yearling cost of a good thoroughbred and his 
ultimate profitableness as an investment, but it is not 
necessary to enlarge further upon that point at this time. 

There is another side to the case, however, that illus- 
trates to a considerable degree the uncertainty of this 
speculation. Buying a yearling is not exactly like 
buying "a pig in a bag," but there are times when it 
would seem to be almost as grave an uncertainty as that 
proverbial porcine transaction. For instance there was 
King Thomas, son of Maud Hampton, who brought a 
big price as a yearling — §40,000, and never won a race. 
Benjamin, who was scarcely heard of upon the turf, cost 
his purchaser $4, 100. Banneret, for $2,530; Bay Bush, 
for $2, 02s; Lava, for $625; King Pin, for $1,300, and 
Mill Boy for $2, 02s, were almost flat failures. In the early 
seventies there were New York, King Bolt and Austra- 
lind, who were sold as yearlings for §3,000, $3,540 and 
$3,200 respectively, and hardly earned enough to pay 
the expenses of their training. When Mr. Pierre Loril- 
lard secured Parole for §780 he paid $5,000 for Barricade, 
but a comparison between the two horses on that 
relative standard of value would be amusing in the light 
of their future careers. Pawnee cost Mr. Pierre Lorillard 
$3,500 and Sioux $2,500, neither one of whom won a 
race in his colors. Uncas, a fairly good horse, cost him 
$3,100. Against his fortunate purchase of Foxhall, Mr. 
James R.. Keene was obliged to place Bushman, at 
$4,000, Gemsbock, at $2, 12s, and Brother to Madge, at 
$2.o^o, from neither one of whom was he able to make 
a dollar. 

Not the yearlings alone have commanded big figures. 
So much have the great prizes of the turf enhanced the 
value of all thoroughbreds that the prices which have 
been paid for racers of established merit during this period 
have been out of all comparison with the figures that 
even the greatest blood horses commanded in times 
past. This is another striking proof of the vastness 
and profitableness of racing as a business institution, and 
also shows to what a wonderful extent the sport is now 
engaging the attention of sport loving men of wealth, 
who allow no considerations of expense to stand in the 
way of the gratification of their desires to possess good 
stables, and to see their colors first by the post in 
many a hard fought contest. When, fifty years ago, 
$10,000 or $1 5,000 was considered a big price to pay for 



even a famous horse, those figures pale in insignificance 
when compared with the sums that have been paid for 
latter day cracks. Through no fault of his own, Mr. Charles 
Reed failed to secure the great English Derby winner, 
Ormonde, although he made a special voyage to Buenos 
Ayres for that purpose, and offered to pay $150,000, but 
the same gentleman was glad to pay $100,000 for St. 
Blaise at the sale of Mr. Belmont's Nursery Stud. At 
the Belle Meade sale in 1X90, Iroquois went for $34,oo(j. 
which was paid for him by General W. H. Jackson. 

When Mr. Astor's Ferncliffe Stud was sold, Mr. 
Wyndham Walden paid .§30,000 for Galore, which was 
then said to have been the largest price ever paid for a 
thoroughbred stallion at a free auction sale in this 
country, but this price became insignificant when com- 
pared with the St. Blaise price a year later. It is to be 
said, however, in favor of Galore, who was a son of the 
English horse Galopin, that when he was sold he was 
only an untried stallion. For Galore, Mr. Clark Max- 
well paid $10,000 in England, and he cost Mr. Astor 
$15,000, so that his sale for §90,000 represented a very 
good profit indeed. Imported Mortemer was purchased 
by Mr. Pierre Lorillard for the Rancocas Stud, in 1880, 
for $25, OCX), but in course of time depreciated in value, 
so that at the breaking up sale of Rancocas he 
brought only $2,500. La Tosca brought at the end of 
her last racing season, $15,000. Magnetizer, another 
member of the Nursery Stud, brought §16.000, and im- 
ported Toucques, at that time twentv-three years old, 
fetched $10,500. Maud Hampton, dam of those two 
good race horses. Ban Fox and King Fox, was sold to 
Mr. Haggin for $10,000. In 1888, her yearling. Silver 
King, by imported St. Blaise, brought $22,000. The 
Honorable William L. Scott, at the breaking up sale of 
the Dangu Stud, in France, in 1882, bought the great 
French race horse. Rayon d'Or, for $30,000, a price that 
had never before been paid for an imported stallion. 

That racing, during the closing years of the nineteenth 
century, has again become one of the popular forms of 
sport in the United States, does not admit of doubt. 
During the season from May to November, there is 
racing almost every day, and sometimes the meetings on 
various courses even overlap each other, so that the 
sport is conducted simultaneously in many widely 
separated parts of the country. In the aggregate, 
thousands of patrons are attracted to the race meetings 
and the amount of money involved in the raising of 
thoroughbreds and in conducting the races has become 
something enormous. The primary investment required 
by these undertakings amounts to many millions of 
dollars, and hence racing has become an institution, even 
more than it is a sport, being now a vast and intricate 
business in which thousands of men are regularly em- 
ployed. A quarter of a century or so ago, if from fifty 



53 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



to seventy-five race horses were in attendance upon a 
meeting, tiiat was considered quite enough to insure 
success. Now, at any one of the leading courses, from 
seven hundred to a thousand horses can find accommoda- 
tion, while it is almost impossible to keep any account of 
the aggregate number of thoroughbreds that are annually 
in training in the United States. Their number runs up 
into several thousands. 

Owners of racing stables have multiplied accordingly, 
and despite all that has been said about the attractive- 
ness of racing solely as a sport, and regardless of its cost, 
the purely commercial side of it is probably more 
prominent and influential now than ever before, and is 
likely to develop rather than to decrease. This is not to 
say that the spirit of the old-time sportsmen has entirely 
departed. There are still some notable turfmen who are 
engaged in the sport purely for love of it, and even 
though it may be gratifying to them to find the year's 
balance on the right side of the ledger, that is really not 
the prime consideration with them. It is, however, 
undoubtedly true that by far the greater number of those 
who engage, either in breeding or in racing, do so with 
an eye wholly to the profits to be derived from it as a 
business pursuit. Nor, at the present time, does this 
seem to a condition of affairs that may be considered 
reprehensible. 

Before the Civil War, and even at least at one time sub- 
sequent thereto, the management of turf affairs had 
fallen so completely into unworthy hands that the race 
course became a byword and reproach in the minds of 
all honest minded men. It was then argued that the 
predominance of the commercial spirit was altogether 
responsible for this degradation. An entirely different 
condition of affairs prevails now, for although the busi- 
ness element in racing has come more conspicuously to 
the front than ever before, it is generally agreed that 
even this is influenced by a degree of sportsmanlike spirit 
such as did not characterize the commercialism of the 
turf in those earlier periods just referred to. Further- 
more, the necessity, from purely commercial points of 
view, of holding the turf to a high standard of integrity 
and to maintain it with an irreproachable character, has 
impressed itself quite as strongly upon those who aim 
to make a living by it as it ever has upon those who are 
engaged in it as a sport, rather than as a business. The 
result seems to be that both classes can now be united 
in support of racing as an institution which must be 
beyond cavil, and command the approval of all classes 
in the community, as it has in other periods of its 
existence. 

The closing decade of the century has witnessed very 
many other and vital changes in turf affairs. Looking 
back over the past, for a hundred years or more, we can- 
not fail to be impressed with the fact that racing, up to 



the end of the Civil War was, generally speaking, the 
sport of gentlemen, high-minded sportsmen who con- 
trolled the race meetings, enforced the rules, and gave 
character and distinction to the sport. To be sure, 
there were sporting men, not sportsmen, even in the 
olden times, and the race courses were not entirely free 
from their presence. Meetings took somewhat of the 
character of the old country fairs, and the gambling 
gentry brought thither their games of chance to ensnare 
the greenhorns and line their own pockets. In the 
South especially, the bar room and the cock fight were 
often concomitants of the course, but, on the whole, 
the gambling and other indulgences, more or less repre- 
hensible, were confined to the race tracks and had not 
e.xtended to the general community, as it has in the 
present day. 

Nevertheless, the turf, notwithstanding the high 
chaiacter of the gentlemen who have mostly been con- 
cerned with it from the middle of the eighteenth century 
down to the present time, has again and again in its 
career, fallen under malign influences, that for the 
moment overshadowed it darkly, and often seemed 
likely almost to bring about its complete destruction. 
Sometimes the threatening elements have been outside 
the profession, while again the turf has been mostly 
endangered by those within the fold. At one time it is 
the spirit of intolerance and Puritanism that has directed 
its attention to the overthrow of the turf on principles of 
ultramorality. Again we find that self-seekers and 
ambitious money makers have joined the ranks of turf- 
men only to sow seeds of dissension, to introduce nefa- 
rious practices, and to prostitute the race course to 
selfish ends. Often the genuine sportsmen who have 
bred and raced horses, purely through love of the 
thoroughbred and delight in his performances, have been 
forced, out of self-respect, to withdraw from all associa- 
tion with the turf and leave it for the time being in less 
worthy hands. Again it will be seen that these gentle- 
men, the unselfish promoters of turf interests, have 
joined hands in combating the encroachment of evils 
that may have crept into turf administration, and by their 
admirable conduct of affairs have endeavored to disarm 
an adverse public opinion that is generally the outgrowth 
of ignorance and intolerance. It is worthy of note, 
moreover, that after passing through these periods of 
trial and darkness, racing has risen again, stronger 
than ever before and more entitled to public confidence 
and patronage. 

During the nineties the turf has been passing through 
one of these trying experiences. The great prosperity 
that attended the institution during the seventies and 
eighties attracted to it an element that, in the end, 
proved itself to be most undesirable. Practices in racing 
and in management sprang up that were in the highest 



54 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



degree dishonorable, and th.it lent some color to asser- 
tions that were freely made by critics of the turf that the 
institution was one with which dishonesty was inevita- 
bly allied. More than that, the spirit of gambling, that 
had been growing stronger and stronger throughout the 
country for a quarter of a century or more, found in the 
race course an opportunity for exploiting its practices 
that was readily availed of by the devotees of chance. 
In olden times most of the betting was done between 
individuals, who backed their favorites more or less 
heavily, as their means permitted, and as they were 
witnessing the performances. The modern scheme of 
betting, and the pool-rooms through which individuals, 
who, perhaps, never saw a horse race and never cared 
to, and would scarcely know one if they should see it, 
had abundant opportunity to indulge their pure love of 
gambling, irrespective of any interest in the event upon 
which they were placing their stakes, were as yet 
unknown. It remained for the present generation to see 
these features attached to the race course, and ultimately 
to become a source of grave danger to the institution 
upon which they thrived. 

Attention being after a while drawn to this feature of 
the racing business, promptly the overzealous public 
proceeded to lay the blame, more or less, upon the insti- 
tution, rather than upon the purely gambling fraternity, 
that was utilizing the course to unworthy ends. 
Agitation ensued all over the country, and the question 
soon became one of serious political importance. Legis- 
latures were called upon to deal with it, and State after 
State passed laws which, however honestly intended 
they may have been, resulted in untold loss to the busi- 
ness of breeding and racing. It became almost impossi- 
ble to conduct racing in a profitable way at any of the 
great race courses, so unreasonably stringent was much 
of the legislation that, although aimed at recognized 
evils, completely failed in any rational solution of the 
problem. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Penn- 
sylvania, Illinois, and numerous other States joined in 
the crusade against racing, with the mistaken idea that 
Ijie only way to drive out the objectionable gambling 
feature, was to kill entirely one of the largest institutions 
of the country and in its various allied branches, one of 
the most valuable business pursuits that existed. 

One of the results of this agitation and legislative 
interference was precisely the contrary to what had 
been anticipated by its most energetic advocates. Some 
of the largest, best and most honorably conducted race 
courses were crippled almost beyond recovery. In the 
case of Monmouth Park, supported by the most gentle- 
manly and most devoted turfmen that the country had 
ever known, racing was entirely abandoned, the mem- 
bers of the Monmouth Park Association being law-abid- 
ing citizens, and unwilling to act, or appear to act. 



in contravention of legal enactments, however unjust 
those might be. To a lesser degree a similar result was 
seen at other important racing centres. At the same 
time those who had brought discredit upon the turf, and 
by their practices had been mostly responsible for the 
sudden turn of public opinion against racing, and the 
severity of the legislative enactments of the period, only 
sought a way to escape the operations of the law with- 
out abandoning the sport. .Some of the smaller and less 
responsible courses continued to exist in actual violation 
of the law, and thus brought the turf more and more 
into disrepute. 

The evil that was sought to be cured was soon loimd 
to be more in evidence than ever before. The reputable 
side of racing had been pretty effectually swept away, 
while the disreputable had, if anything, gained in 
strength by reason of its absolute indifference to the 
law and the consequences of its violation, and also 
somewhat from the lessening of rivalry, resulting from 
the practical withdrawing of many of the larger courses 
from much of the activity that had heretofore character- 
ized them. One of the peculiar results of this condition 
of affairs was seen in the introduction of winter racing 
at several of the racing centres of the North. This 
naturally operated to the disadvantage of the courses in 
the South that had generally held a monopoly of racing 
during the winter months. The feeling that was thus 
engendered prejudiced the Southern racing men more 
and more against the North, as they saw the winter 
racing in the latter section interfering with the success of 
their traditional meetings. Accordingly the larger 
courses of the North suffered in turn from the natural 
apathy, if not positive disfavor, of the Southern men. 

So, while winter racing brought the institution more 
and more into contempt with the reputable part of the 
community, whether concerned with the affairs of the 
turf or not, it created ill feeling even in its own family. 
In some instances, the practice was found to be directly 
destructive of the best interests of the turf in particular 
localities. Both Washington and Baltimore had long 
been struggling against an adverse public sentiment as 
regards racing affairs of every description. In the seven- 
ties and eighties, the spring and fall meetings in those 
cities were second to none in brilliancy and in impor- 
tance, and were admirably conducted. These localities 
seemed, now, to suffer even more than other parts of the 
country in the general turf depression, and the project 
for winter racing there put an even more decisive 
damper upon their prospects. In the earlv nineties the 
opening of the St. Asaph Course, near Washington, en- 
couraged those who hoped that the days of high-class 
sport might be again returning to the Capital. The 
experiment tailed to meet expectations, however, and 
after a few years St. Asaph passed out of existence. 



55 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Meantime the Alexander Island track, one of the outlaw 
racing places, was successfully enjoined from doing busi- 
ness,'but other projects for winter racing were, tempor- 
arily, more successful, with the result of adding to the 
difficulties that were in the way of honest racing in that 
part of the country. 

In all matters pertaining to the legislation that has 
been designed to restrict racing or to reform abuses that 
crept into the management of race courses, as well as to 
abolish the confessed evils of the pool rooms that fixed 
themselves upon the turf as a convenient medium for 
carrying on their questionable practices, the State of New 
York has been foremost. This has been due to several 
causes, principally the special predominance of the State 
in the racing affairs of the United States at the present 
time. As we have before pointed out, the racing inter- 
ests of New York have assumed such position by reason 
of the generous support given to the turf in the metropo- 
lis, both by wealthy promoters, wealthy sportsmen and 
the general public, so that, to a large extent. New York 
has become far and away the leader of the American 
turf in this generation. Naturally, therefore, the oppor- 
tunity for gambling and other evil practices multiplied in 
New York more rapidly than elsewhere, and earlier 
called out the criticism and opposition of the public, as 
well as the profound regret of all honest promoters of 
the turf and lovers of the thoroughbred. 

First to feel the effects of this condition of affairs. New 
York has also been the first to attain to an apparently 
successful solution of the difficult problem by which 
racing shall continue in an honest and wholesome man- 
ner and be practically free from the gambling and pool 
room influences that so long succeeded in degrading it. 
On all accounts then, tuilinen are looking toward New 
York and studying the situation in that State, first, 
because the condition of affairs in the Empire State 
directly and seriously affects them and, second, because 
the same questions of legislative control of racing affairs 
confront them in their own homes. Nowhere in the 
United States was there greater need of reform than in 
New York, and not elsewheie, as yet, has there been any 
practical solution of the difficulties upon a basis satisfac- 
tory to supporters of the turf and to the moralists who 
decry everything that savors of freedom in rational 
sport. The sweeping restriction of gambling of all 
kinds that was placed in the State constitution of 1894, 
and that was aimed largely at the race tracks, was not 
essentially different from legislation that had been 
attempted, and very often successfully, in other States, 
and always to the detriment of racing. 

For instance, the State of Illinois passed a law that 
practically made illegal the operation of all race courses 
where pools of any kind were sold. Under the opera- 
tions of this law racing in that great State was abso- 



lutely abandoned. The grounds of the Washington 
Park Club, the Chicago Racing Association, the Chicago 
Fair Grounds Association and of other clubs and associa- 
tions throughout the State were closed. As was pointed 
out by the advocates of more liberal treatment of the 
race track, this legislation cost the horse owners and 
breeders of the State many millions of dollars in prizes 
that would have been distributed among them had the 
tracks been able to keep open and continue the sport. 
More than that, the entire business of raising horses, 
whether for racing or for other purposes, suffered a de- 
pression such as had never before been known in its 
history. Connecticut also had an anti-pool law, passed 
in 1894. that, ostensibly designed to suppress gambling 
and particularly the disreputable pool rooms, only suc- 
ceeded in closing all the honorable race courses in 
the State. While the best horses sought more con- 
genial surroundings, at the same time the pool rooms 
continued to flourish and to do business without inter- 
ference just as they had before. 

The experience of New York in coming to a practical 
solution of this problem has, therefore, more than mere 
local interest. Not only is it a part of the history of the 
contemporaneous turf, but it seems likely that it has 
marked the turning point between the decadence of the 
immediate past and the prosperity that is undoubtedly 
in store in the immediate future. A large and an 
impoitant chapter as regards the entire turf of the United 
States, is that which must detail the rise and fall of racing 
in New York in this generation and the methods by 
which it has once more been placed upon sound footing. 
As soon as it was seen that the operation of the anti- 
gambling section of the new constitution would work 
the ultimate destruction of all racing in the State, 
measures were promptly set on foot to secure special 
legislation that should counteract this wrong and make 
it possible for the sport to continue under such reason- 
able restrictions as would commend themselves to every- 
body. The Percy-Gray law that was passed by the 
State Legislature in 189s, is now generally acknowledged 
to be the best measure for the wholesome promotion of 
racing interests that could have been devised. It was 
advocated by Mr. August Belmont and other gentlemen 
who have been associated with him in their devotion to 
the turf, and who stand foremost in the social and com- 
mercial world of the metropolis. The measure was 
opposed outwardly by extreme moralists represented by 
Anthony Comstock and others of his class, and insid- 
iously by the pool room owners and gamblers, who saw 
that under its provisions the opportunities that they had 
previously enjoyed of carrying on their peculiar business 
would be forever lost to them. 

For the State Commission provided by the terms of 
this enactment, Governor Levi P. Morton selected Messrs. 



§6 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



August Belmont, Edwin D. Morgan and John Sant'ord. 
These gentlemen, men of wealth and social standing, 
engaged in large business enterprises, and at the same 
time occupied in a thoroughly practical way with the 
racing and breeding of blood horses, were recognized 
as peculiarly (It for the duties which devolved upon 
the Commission. Mr. Belmont, representative of one 
of the most distinguished racing families of modern 
times; Mr. Sanford, one of the most prominent breed- 
ers in the country and a former Member of Con- 
gress, and Mr. Morgan, son of ex-Governor Edwin 1). 
Morgan, ;i leading banker of New York and a noted 
yachtsman, were depended upon for such direction of 
racing affairs in the State as would revive racing, elimi- 
nate the law-breaking element that had previously been 
connected with and thrived upon it and give an example 
to the rest of the country of how it might be possible to 
reinstate the gi'and old "'sport of kings," in the honorable 
position that it had enjoyed in times gone by. 

Now that the law has had a three years' trial and has 
substantially proved the wisdom of those who advo- 
cated it, its results are well worth considering, since, as 
we have said, the condition of affairs in New York 
affects the turf throughout the country not less than in 
this State, and also because it is more than possible 
that the permanence of the turf as a national institu- 
tion may ultimately depend upon some such legal 
status as that which now upholds it in the Empire State. 
In 1895, the limitations imposed upon the financial end 
of the sport were painfully apparent. The previous 
form of betting having been abolished, there was a 
marked decrease in the attendance and a consequent 
diminution of gate receipts. The hundreds and thou- 
sands who had hitherto gone to the courses, less from a 
desire to see the racing than with the passion to stake 
their dollars on the result, now remained away, and the 
associations suffered very much from this loss of support. 
Stockholders in racing associations saw the profits that 
they had hitherto enjoyed becoming more and more 
fleeting. 

While this was regarded at first as being a very 
threatening situation, good came from it in the end. 
Gentlemen, who loved the sport for itself, they who 
were sportsmen and not gamblers, found it necessary to 
come forward generously to maintain enterprises that 
the public no longer supported, and they kept up the 
value and number of stakes and purses, quite regardless 
of any profitable financial end to the transaction. They 
were determined that the turf should be re-established 
and purified, cost what it might. It was thus that the 
racing has become more and more as it was in its 
palmiest days, with the very best element in control, the 
honest sporting sentiment infusing new life into its 
affairs, while the less honorable features of the sport have 



been relegated to a position 111 the distant background. 
Once more it is seen that the " sport of kings" has become 
the sport of gentlemen, while there is no place in its 
council or in its affairs for those who have been accus- 
tomed to regard it simply as a money-making enterprise, 
sometimes honestly, but more frequently dishonest in 
motives and in practices. 

Each year since this State Racing Commission has had 
control of racing affairs has shown a distinct advance- 
ment over that which preceded it. This improvement 
was particularly noticeable in 1897, the third year of the 
commission's existence, thus conclusively demonstrating 
the complete utility of the new law and vindicating the 
opinions of those who were instrLimental in securing its 
enactment. As it exists now it refiects the best 
European legalism upon the subject, and having stood 
the supreme test of practice is now generally regarded 
as presenting beyond all controversy a solid foundation 
upon which legitimate racing may surely stand safe from 
assault from without or from evil infiuence within. In 
this light the way has been blazed for the future whole- 
some and profitable existence of the turf in other sections 
of the United States, in many of which the prospect is 
still unpromising, hedged about as it is by adverse 
conditions. 

Under the operations of this law racing has been con- 
ducted by the Westchester Racing Association, the 
Coney Island Jockey Club, the Brooklyn Jockey Club, 
the Brighton Beach Association, the Saratoga Racing 
Association and the Queen's County Jockey Club. In 
1897, the racing conducted upon the tracks of these 
clubs and associations under license of the racing com- 
mission was of a brilliant character and the meetings 
were eminently successful. The whole number of days 
raced by the six associations was one hundred and forty- 
four. During the year prizes and stakes were given to 
the amount of $916,080, which was $109,564 in advance 
of that competed for in 1896 and §129.627 in excess of 
that offered in 1895. The Saratoga Racing As.sociation, 
which, in 1896, closed its grounds, reopened in the 
ensuing year and had a successful meeting. Additional 
stake features were opened, and one of the assuring tests 
of the returning prosperity of the turf was found in the 
largely increased number of nominations made to these 
stakes. Not only was the number of horses engaged the 
largest since 1894, but the list represented a decided 
addition to the number of different interests represented. 
There was also a gratifying increase in the amount of 
the State tax levied upon the gross receipts of the 
several racing associations. This increase in the tax 
showed that there was an increased revenue to the 
racing associations arising from a larger patronage from 
horsemen and spectators. Thus the associations have 
been enabled to offer greater prizes for contests and 



57 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



not only m.ike the horse more profitable in the mari<et, 
but also to encourage liberal and intelligent expenditure 
on breeding farms. On the whole, therefore, the show- 
ing made by the Commission was exceedingly gratifying, 
indicating, as it did, such a decided revival of interest in 
turf affairs and a substantial advancement over previous 
years towards that degree of prosperity that all sports- 
men earnestly hope for and that is essential to the very 
existence of the turf as a great national institution. 

The extent to whir'.- ...cing has developed in these 
later days of the century is clearly seen by a contem- 
plation among other things of the number of racing 
meetings that are annually held. All sections of the 
country are represented by race courses from San 
Francisco to New York, and on many of the tracks there 
are two or even three meetings every season. During 
the year of 1897, to bring the matter close down to date, 
nearly threescore impoitant racing coLirses were opened, 
while there was racing on numeroLis other less im- 
portant tracks. New York naturally stands at the head 
of the list as regards the importance of its meetings and 
the high standing of the several race courses in the 
vicinity of the metropolis. 



Earlier in the year the racing stables began at New 
Orleans, Bennings, Little Rock and Newport, Ky. 
Immediately thereafter came the meetings at Memphis, 
Tenn. ; Forsyth, Ind., and Aqueduct, Long Island, fol- 
lowed by Lexington, Nashville. Louisville, St. Louis, 
Latonia, Oakley, O. ; Detroit, Mich., as well as the New 
York courses before mentioned. Meantime, and to a con- 
siderable degree independent of the turf of the East, San 
Francisco patronized the Ingleside Course, managed by 
the Pacific Coast Jockey Club, and the Oakland Course, 
managed by the California Jockey Club. This list 
might be considerably added to without ending 
the enumeration of the racing centres where good 
sport, honorably conducted, could be seen during the 
year which we have taken as a sample to show the 
activity in tLirf affairs prevailing during this period. 
Other years immediately preceding, exhibited a similar 
state of affairs and at this writing he would not be a 
reckless prophet who should predict that the American 
turf is entering upon a new career, which in brilliancy 
and in all other qualities that go to make up honorable 
success, shall surpass even the noblest records of the 
past. 



58 



FAMOUS RACING RVHNTS 



Grkat Four-Mile Hrats ok Olden Time — North Against the South in the Hclipse-Henry, 

Boston-Fashion and Other Famous Matches — Notable Races 

OF Later Date, Ri.cords and Winners 




iil'tlu' caiiiest ;is well as greatest racing 
events in the annals of the American turf 
was the contest between American Hclipse 
and Sir Henry, in 1825, upon the Union Course 
on Long Island. At this time and, indeed, lor long 
alter, rivalry in racing was largely sectional. One 
division of the country matched its champions against 
those of anotiier. and the loyalty of the supporters of 
each was unswerving. The tLirf then was too limited an 
affair foi' the multiplied races that are now customary, 
even at the meetings that are held at the smaller tracks. 
A match then would be arranged months in advance 
and be eagerly discussed in all parts of the countiy 
where horses were objects of interest and affection, and 
the result, whether victory or defeat, would carry joy or 
dejection through the whole communities. In the 
famous contest between American Eclipse and Henry, 
the former represented the North and the latter the 
South. Henry was a son of Sir Archy and out of a 
mare by the great Diomed. He was owned by Colonel 
William R. Johnson, of Petersburg, Va. American 
Eclipse was regarded by horsemen everywhere as the 
foremost representative of Northern horses, and as such 
excited an invincible determination on the part of the 
Southern turfmen to humble his pride with one of their 
own thoroughbreds. 

In 1822, Mr. Cornelius W. Van Ranst, the owner of 
Eclipse, upon challenge of Mr. James J. Harrison, of 
Brunswick, Va., took his horse to the Washington 
Course in Charleston, S. C, to run a match against im- 
ported Sir Charles for $s,ooo a side. Upon November 20, 
the day fixed for the race, Sir Charles, having met with 
an accident, his owner forfeited the race. Subsequently 
another match of a single four-mile race for $1,500 a side 
was arranged, and when that event came off Eclipse 
won with consummate ease, his opponent breaking 
down in the last mile. This defeat put the Southern 
turfmen on their mettle, and Colonel Johnson made a 
proposition to produce a horse which, at the opening 
of the next season, should run a race in four-mile heats 
against Eclipse over the Long Island Union Course for 
$20,000 a side, $3,000 forfeit. This challenge was 
promptly accepted by Mr. John C. Stevens, of New 
York, in behalf of himself and of several other Northern 
gentlemen. All winter long the match was the object 



of the greatest interest and J^fT'ission throughout the 
country, and a constant stimulus to sectional pride and 
prejudice. By the time that the 27th of Mav, the day on 
which conclusions were to be tried, had arrived, the 
affair had assumed the transcendent importance ol a na- 
tional matter. All New York journeyed to the Union 
Course, while every other section of the country con- 
tributed its quota to the mass of excited spectators who 
numbered, it is said, no less than sixty thousand people. 
The representatives of the South had brought with them 
tive selected horses, from which they finally chose Henry 
to carry their hopes and fortunes. As an aged horse, 
being nine years old at the time, Eclipse carried 126 
pounds, while Henry bore 108. 

The excitement that attended the race from start to 
finish was fully equal to all that had been anticipated 
concerning it. Crofts rode Eclipse in the first heat 
and was defeated by the Southern horse by half a 
length. In the second heat, Purdy, a jockey of wide 
experience, who was thoroughly familiar with Eclipse, 
had the mount, and brought the chestnut in a winner. 
In the third heat Purdy again had the saddle, while 
Arthur Taylor, a trainer and rider of established 
reputation and of great success, rode Henry. From the 
start Purdy took the lead with Eclipse maintaining it 
throughout, beating Henry so thoroughly that in the 
last half mile he was unable even to rally for a good 
finish. The time of the first heat was 7 minutes, 373-^ 
seconds; the second heat was won in 7 minutes, 49 sec- 
onds, and the third in S minutes, 24 seconds; the aggre- 
gate time being 23 minutes, 50J2 seconds— an average 
of about I mile in i minute, 59 seconds. It was esti- 
mated that fully $200,000, an enormous amount for those 
times, changed hands on that day. The entire country 
was on the alert for news of the event, and special mail 
packets and couriers were despatched from New York as 
soon as the race was ended, to acquaint the expectant 
ones with the result. The judges of this famous race 
were General Ridgely, of Baltimore; Captain Cox, of 
Washington, and John Allen, of Philadelphia. 

The echoes of that great equine struggle have scarcely 
died out, even in the present day. For years after the 
event discussion of the relative merits of the two horses 
was carried on in all parts of the country with the 
vehemence and persistency that would characterize any 



59 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



grent political controversy. The supporters of tlie 
Northern horse were firm in the belief th:it if Purdy 
had ridden in the first heat Eclipse would easily 
have won in two straight heats. On the other hand, 
there was a feeling of great dissatisfaction among the 
Southern representatives over the defeat of their cham- 
pion. They eagerly sought for another match between 
the two horses for any stakes ranging from $20,000 to 
$SO,ooo, but the propositions were politely declined by 
the Northerners. 

It was felt by many of the supporters of Henry that 
the absence of Colonel Johnson, who was unable to at- 
tend the great battle which he himself had planned, con- 
tributed to the defeat of his horse. One of the time- 
honored anecdotes of the old turf relates that the good 
Colonel had, on the preceding evening, been so unfor- 
tunate as to attend a social gathering where, among 
other viands, there was a liberal supply of lobster and 
champagne. In consequence he was physically pros- 
trated when he should have been at the track directing 
the policy to be pursued in regard to his champion, and 
thus gave an additional advantage to his opponents. 
The celebrated John Randolph, of Roanoke, himself a 
breeder of thoroughbreds and a sportsman of no small 
fame, was present at the contest, and, as a comment on 
the result and its possible cause, uttered the celebrated 
dictum, "It was not Eclipse that beat Henry, it was 
the lobsters." 

In I.S2S, came another great match, which stirred the 
turf world in the United States to the utmost pitch of 
excitement — that between Ariel and Flirtilla. The 
triumphs of Ariel, who was a daughter of American 
Eclipse, and who was then regarded as the greatest 
champion on the turf, had aroused the interest of the 
Southern sportsmen to the keenest point. Sectional re- 
gret over the defeat of the great Henry had not yet been 
obliterated in the section represented by that favorite 
and the Southerners desired to get on a match between 
Ariel and their own champion. General William Wynn's 
five-year old bay mare, Flirtilla, by Sir Archy out of 
Robin Redbreast. A peculiar interest attached to this 
proposition from the fact that the Southern mare was a 
half sister of the defeated Henry, and thus the same 
strains of blood would be brought together, as in the 
great event between Eclipse and Henry two years before. 
Mr. Henry Lynch, the owner of Ariel, offered to run his 
mare four-mile heats against any horse to be named, for 
$1,000 on each turn or quarter pole, four turns to the 
mile, and $10,000 on the main race. When this chal- 
lenge was not accepted he offered to run Ariel four-mile 
heats against any horse, mare or gelding that might be 
named, for $20,000. This proposition was accepted 
by Mr. Wyche, of North Carolina, who named Flirtilla, 
and who also, with two outside bets, increased his back- 



ing of the Southern mare to $30,000. Subsequently the 
distance was changed from four to three-mile heats. 
The match was arranged for October 31, 182s. on the 
Long Island Union Course, and aroused an enthusiasm 
and sectional rivalry which was not surpassed by that 
which had been displayed in the previous contest be- 
tween Eclipse and Henry. 

The attendance upon the Union Course upon the day 
of the race was almost equal in numbers to that which 
characterized the earlier meeting between the great 
champions of the North and the South. Betting was 
heavy and some individuals had from $7,000 to $15,000 
at stake. Ariel had been trained by Samuel Laird, and, 
in place of Black Harry, who had ridden her previously, 
Madison Laird had the mount. Flirtilla, who was five 
years old, had been trained under the personal supervi- 
sion of Colonel William R. Johnson, who had full com- 
mand on the day of the race. She was ridden by Bob 
Wooden. Ariel was not in the best condition and ex- 
perts in horseflesh had doubts about her being able to 
defeat her opponent. Flirtilla, on the contrary, was fit 
to run for a man's life. In the first heat Ariel led off, 
with Flirtilla close behind, and the first mile was run in 
the slow time of 2 minutes, 12 seconds. At that point 
the bay mare took the lead and kept it until about the 
close of the third mile, when the gray filly again chal- 
lenged her and passed to the head, keeping up a rapid 
pace to the end of the race, coming in three or four 
lengths ahead. The last two miles were run in 3 min- 
utes, 47 seconds, and the heat in s minutes, 99 seconds. 
In the second heat Flirtilla challenged at the start, passed 
ahead, and kept up a telling pace. Ariel followed, but 
kept steadily dropping farther and farther behind. These 
relative positions were maintained until within a few 
rods of the winning post, when suddenly Flirtilla be- 
came sulky and came almost to a full stop, allowing 
Ariel so nearly to overtake her that she won the heat 
only six inches ahead of Ariel, in s minutes. S4/2 sec- 
onds. The third heat was a procession for Flirtilla from 
start to finish, the filly being dead beat in the second 
round and full one hundred yards in the rear at the 
finish, the heat being run in 5 minutes, 54 seconds. The 
outcome of the race afforded intense satisfaction to the 
Southern sportsmen, who felt that the honor of their 
section was retrieved and that they were thus in a mea- 
sure compensated for the defeat of Henry. 

Another great contest in which Ariel figured, was in 
the race for the Jockey Club Purse, upon the course at 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in June, 1829, when she defeated 
Betsey Ransom. Since the contest between Eclipse and 
Henry, in 1823, no race at the North had excited more 
interest than this later event. Both horses were in good 
condition. When they started on the first of the four- 
mile heats, Betsey Ransom went off in the lead at a 



60 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



moderate pace, but alter half of the heat had been com- 
pleted, struck a killing pace and won the heat in 7 
minutes, s^ seconds, the last two miles being 
covered in } minutes. S2 seconds. in the second 
heat, Betsey Ransom again took the lead and kept 
it until the fourth mile was entered upon, when Ariel 
came close up and from that time on entered upon a 
desperate and determined struggle for supremacy, hi 
the last quarter Ariel was about half a length ahead, but 
came Linder the wire a winner by only half a neck in 
8 minutes, i second. The third and last heat was 
a repetition of the one which had preceded it, Betsey 
Ransom leading off, with Ariel following for something 
more than three miles, and then taking and keeping the 
lead by two or three lengths to the winning post. The 
time of the third heat is not recorded. 

Nearly a decade after Eclipse met and vanquished 
Henry, and carried the colors of the North above 
those of the South, Black Maria ran her most memora- 
ble race over the Union Course. The event was for the 
Jockey Club Purse of §600, four-mile heats, and was set 
down for October 13, 1852. Four horses started, Mr. 
John C. Stevens' Black Maria, by Eclipse out of Ladv 
Lightfoot, six years old; Dr. E. A. D'Arcy's chestnut 
mare Lady Relief, by Eclipse out of Maria Slamerkin; 
Mr. John C.Craig's chestnut filly Tritle. by Sir Charles, 
dam by Cicero, four years old; and Messrs. Bela Badger 
and John C.Tillotsen's brown filly Slim, by Flying Childers 
out of Molley Longlegs by Harwood, four years old. 
Upon the day of the event, Tritle was the favorite among 
the betters as well as among the spectators, and small 
odds were offered on her against the field. Bets were 
freely offered that Black Maria would not take a single 
heat. Everybody seemed to have the idea that the 
Southern mare would, as a matter of course, win, 
because the prejudice in favor of racers foaled south of 
Mason and Dixon's line was still a very potent quantity 
among horsemen of that period. Trifle was a perfect 
appearing race horse of a bright chestnut, not over four- 
teen hands and a half high, of just proportions, undoubted 
bottom and considerable power. Lady Relief and Slim 
were unknown quantities, but there were good reports 
concerning their abilities. 

When the first heat opened the four horses went off 
well together, with Relief at the head, Slim second. 
Trifle third and Black Maria last. At first it was a wait- 
ing race, but at the beginning of the third mile Black 
Maria was in the lead, followed close by Trifle, with the 
other two far in the rear. During the fourth mile Trifle 
headed Black Maria, but in the last quarter the latter 
came up, shot by like an arrow and won the heat with 
ease. The time of the heat was 8 minutes, 6 seconds. 
Black Maiia still had few genuine supporters, notwith- 
standing her success in this heat, and Trifle continued the 



favorite, with the others pretty well out of the running 
in public estimation. The most confidence was expressed 
in Lady Relief, who seemed to be in fairly good con- 
dition. The second heat was run severely from start to 
finish, Lady Relief taking the lead, with Trifie and Black 
Maria bringing up the rear. At the end of the first mile 
the positions were changed, with Black Maria leading 
Trille, while Slim, at the iind of the third mile, gave up 
and quietly walked off of the course. The two leaders 
kept at each other's throatlatch down the last stretch 
and passed the judges' stand together, making a dead 
heat in 7 minutes, 55 seconds. 

The third heat, to the surprise of everybodv. belonged 
to Lady Relief, after the third mile. She kept the track in 
spite of her opponents until on the last quarter stretch, 
when Trifie shot by and won in 8 minutes, 1 5 seconds. 
The three horses began the fourth heat full of spirit, with 
Lady Relief at the head, followed by Trifie and then Black 
Maria. At the end of three miles and a half Black Maria 
closed up on the heels of the daughter of Eclipse, but 
was unable to pa.ss her, and Lady Relief won the heat by 
a neck in 8 minutes, 99 seconds. So it was a twenty 
mile race after all, and in the fifth heat thev started with 
Lady Relief ahead and Trifie and Black Maria in order 
as before. Entering upon the fourth mile Black Maria 
pushed up with a stride that counted terribly upon Ladv 
Relief, led around the turn and thundered up by the 
judges' stand, hard in hand, untouched bv whip or spur, 
winning the heat in 8 minutes, 47 seconds, and carrying 
off the purse. This race was the more phenomenal 
from the fact that the tiack was heavy and yet twenty 
miles were run. It was a terrible strain upon the horses, 
however. For months Black Maria was in a bad con- 
dition and did not come out again until the following 
May. Trifie was crippled and laid up for a year. Lady 
Relief died within a few weeks trom the effects of a cold 
and of exhaustion. Particular interest attached to Black 
Maria and her career, inasmuch as her pedigree combined 
the blood of American Eclipse, with that of his antago- 
nist, Sir Henry. 

Another race of importance on the Union Course was 
the North against the South, a post-match, four-mile 
heats for $5,000 a side, half forfeit, May ^i, 1836, the 
North to name at the post any horse raised north ot 
Maryland, ;uid the South, in like manner, any horse 
raised south of the Potomac. Colonel William R. John- 
son, of Virginia, named Colonel John Crowell's chestnut 
horse, John Bascombe, by Bertrand, dam Pacolet. five 
years old. Mr. Robert Tillotson, of New York, named 
the chestnut horse, Post Boy, by Sir Henry out of Gar- 
land, by Duroc, five years old. Bascombe took the track 
the first heat, and was never headed. He had the foot of 
Post Boy and the only fear was his endurance. Post Boy 
collared him as they passed the gate on the third mile, 



61 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



which w:is run in i minute, S4 seconds, but Bascombe 
kept the lead, and finally won the heat, with something 
to spare, in hand, in 7 minutes, 49 seconds. Post Boy 
pulling up within the distance pole; rather a fast heat 
over a heavy course. The second heat was a repetition 
of the first, except that after the first mile, in 2 minutes. 
Post Boy went up to Bascombe and lead him by a throat- 
latch, the pace mending at once. The horses ran locked 
throughout the second and third miles, and so continued 
until half round the fourth mile, when Post Boy drew 
out a head and neck, and so maintained his lead to the 
dangerous north corner, when they came round the last 
turn, at a slashing rate, a dead lock. The jockey on 
Bascombe gave him a push that sent the phenomenon 
from Alabama past the winning-post a clear length ahead, 
amid enthusiastic cheers, that made the welkin ring for 
miles. The time was 7 minutes, 51/^ seconds, and 
would have been better by four or five seconds had the 
course been in perfect order, ineffectual attempts were 
made for another match race between John Bascombe 
and Post Boy, but Colonel Crowell would not allow his 
horse to run. 

The next important event in this era was the great race 
won by Colonel Emery's Lady Clifden, of Maryland, at 
the Union Course, considered at the time, under all cir- 
cumstances, the best race ever run in America, by great 
odds, in the following order these horses appeared at 
the post, Novembei' ^, 1837: Mr. j. C. Stevens' Fanny 
Wyatt, four years old, by Sir Charles, dam by Sii' Hal; 
Colonel Wynn's Picton, three years old, by imported 
Luzborough, dam by Sir Archy; Colonel Selden's Lady 
Clifden, four years old, by Sussex, dam by Ratray ; Gen- 
eral Irvine's Mingo, six years old, by Eclipse, dam by 
Rattler. Mingo and Fanny Wyatt were about equal 
favorites and then Lady Clifden. 

In the fiist heat l-'icton led throughout, closely pushed 
at times by Mingo, the best son of the Northern 
champion running second at the end of the third mile, 
about a length behind, until Fanny, at the north turn, 
passed him, and made severe play with the footy colt 
Finding the colt was not to be headed Fanny pulled up 
and Mingo passed, coming in second with Fanny third. 
After two and a half miles of the heat. Lady Clifden fell 
back, resigning her chance and at the finish just dropped 
within the distance stand. Picton won the heat in 7 
minutes, 44 seconds, in the second heat Picton ied as 
before, closely pushed by Mingo, until during the third 
mile Mingo's age and bottom told, and he obtained the 
lead. Lady Clifden passed him on the turn, after a severe 
struggle and headed the field. Fanny passed Picton and 
Mingo and went up to the Lady, the latter leading a 
length in the clear, and winning the heat in 7 minutes, 
43>^ seconds. In the third heat they got off well to- 
gether. Lady Clifden leading, Mingo second, a beaten 



horse, and Picton third. Fanny, after passing the dis- 
tance stand, gradually crept up, and at the winning post 
saddle-lapped her conqueror. Lady Clifden won this 
heat in 7 minutes, 56,'^ seconds. 

Colonel William R. Johnson had the management of 
the winner throughout the race and never was his judg- 
ment, experience and tact so signally displayed. At 
that time he had in the same stable the renowned 
Atalanta and Boston. From this time forward, meeting 
after meeting, there was one constant, continued succes- 
sion of good, nay, great horses, on the turf, from Long 
Island to New Orleans. These were combats of the 
giants, all the rest child's play. Mingo was a magnifi- 
cent horse, quite equal to Bascombe and Post Boy; one 
that never had half a fair chance, a good winner and a 
good performer. Clarion, also of the North, by Mon- 
mouth Eclipse, dam by Oscar, was as beautiful and gal- 
lant a horse as man need look upon. 

Another famous race on the Union Course was that 
between Boston and Fashion on May 10, 1842. This 
was also a sectional contest between horses of the South 
and the North, for $20,000 a side, and was marked by 
all the dramatic enthusiasm that chaiMcterized other 
meetings of its kind. Boston, the Southern representa- 
tive upon this occasion, has a further interest for the 
modern lover of thoroughbieds as the sire of the immor- 
tal Lexington, and consequently ancestor of many of the 
crack performers of later times. The race was in four- 
mile heats and the contest drew another enormous 
crowd, estimated at seventy thousand people. The 
grand stand was crowded with a large array of those 
distinguished in political, social and sporting life, and 
for more than a quarter of a mile, on both sides of the 
course, spectators were packed in solid phalanxes. In- 
tense interest prevailed as the heats were run. The race 
was described by Mr. W. T. Porter, the celebrated turf 
writer, "as most thrilling and exciting and as throwing 
in the shade the most celebrated of those wonderful 
achievements which have conferred so much distinction 
upon the high-mettled racer of America." Although the 
course was deemed not quite so well adapted for speed 
as on some other occasions, Boston's trainer, Arthur 
Taylor, thought he required more seasoning-to make a 
bruising race. On the other hand, Fashion was brought 
to the post in condition to run for a man's life. She was 
admirably trained and faultlessly managed in the race. 

.At the start, in the first heat, Boston went off with the 
lead at a rattling pace. Fashion was two lengths behind 
to the end of the mile, run in i minute, 55 seconds, but 
soon after made play and the pace improved. Boston 
led throughout the second mile, run in 1 minute, so^j 
seconds, the two miles in 3 minutes, 43^^ seconds, and 
again through the third mile, run in 1 minute, 54 seconds, 
the three miles in s minutes, 37^2 seconds. Early in the 



62 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



fourth mile, under whip and spur, Fashion passed Bos- 
ton at a flight of speed rarely equaled. The cheers sent 
from the throats of thousands might be heard for miles. 
But Boston gave her no respite. He lapped her down 
the back stretch for three hundred yards. Here Gilpat- 
rick took a strong and bracing pull on him, and when he 
again let him out unfortunately pulled him inside so near 
the fence that the horse struck his hip against a post 
hard enough to jar him very much and was observed to 
falter. He soon recovered, and though, at this moment. 
Fashion led him nearly three lengths, he gradually closed 
the gap around the turn to within a few feet and nearly 
caught her at the distance stands. One shouted " Bos- 
ton's on you, " but, under the whip. Fashion responded 
and came in about a length ahead, apparently something 
in hand to spare, closing the heat in 7 miuLites, 32 'j sec- 
onds, the fastest, by all odds, ever run in America. The 
Boston party had expected to win in 7 minutes, ^4 sec- 
conds, if put up to that. Had they offered to beat the 
time of Eclipse and Henry, 3 to 1 would have been laid 
against it. For the first two miles Boston, in the opinion 
of many shrewd judges, had the foot of the mare, and it 
was thought, had he trailed her, the result of the tirst 
heat might have been different. 

For the second heat, the horses, having recovered in a 
few minutes, came to the post again comparatively fresh. 
Fashion led off with a moderate stroke. Boston occa- 
sionally lapped her during the two first miles, and during 
the third mile succeeded in taking the track. The scene 
which ensued was indescribable. Such cheering, such 
betting, and so many long faces were never seen or heard 
of before. This took the life out of Boston. Instead of 
pulling him steadily and refreshing him with a slight 
respite, Gilpatrick kept him at his work after he took the 
track and ran the third mile in i minute, 51K' seconds. 
The pace was tremendous. Fashion rallied and, as Bos- 
ton had not another run left in him, she passed him op- 
posite the quarter-mile post and the thing was out. She 
now gradually dropped him and, without another effort 
on his part to retrieve the fortunes of the day, she came 
home a gallant and easy winner in 7 minutes, 4s seconds. 
Boston pulled up inside of the distance stand. It was 
afterward ascertained that his feet were sore from a 
recent and too long deferred sweat that Colonel John- 
son considered necessary on his arrival at the course 
only a few days before the race. Although Mr. Taylor, 
the trainer, was of the same opinion as to its necessity, 
he would not assume the responsibility of it. as Colonel 
Johnson had been daily expected for more than a week. 
This circumstance is supposed to have decided the 
result. This match race prepared Boston for the race 
three days thereafter, when, in three heats of four miles, 
he beat Mariner, 8 minutes, 13 seconds, 7 minutes, 46 
seconds and 7 minutes, 58 seconds. One historian of 



the day, commenting upon the affair, said " though 
beaten, it is conceded on all hands that Boston has 
acquired a more vast renown by this wonderful race 
than by his thirty-tive previous victories combined. He 
is worth more since than he was before the match." 
In the sporting world the result of the contest was sen- 
teiitiously put in this way, " All that can be said is that 
Boston has beaten himself and Fashion has beaten 
Boston." 

A strong rivalry sprang up between Kentucky and 
Tennessee early in the history of the American turf 
Matches between horses representing their respective 
States weie of frequent occurrence and stiri'ed the en- 
thusiasm and (latriotism of the people to an extreme 
point. The most famous contest of this character was, 
perhaps, the great race between Wagner and Grey Fagle 
at Louisville, Ky., in the autumn of 1839. Wagner, 
who was then a five-year old, carried the honor of Ten- 
nessee and Grey Eagle, a four-year old, stood for Ken- 
tucky. The race took place on September 30. the 
nominations having closed on the first of January pre- 
ceding the event, so that the impending contest had 
been the subject of discussion for fully nine months. 
The stake, which was for all ages, four-mile heats, 
closed with ten subscribers at $2,000 each, half forfeit. 
Only four of the nominations started, Wagner, Grey 
Eagle, Queen Mary and Hawk Eye. 

Upon the day of the race the most brilliant assembly 
that had ever been seen upon such an occasion gathered 
on the course at Louisville. Ladies and gentlemen, not 
only from Kentucky and Tennessee, but even from more 
distant parts of the North and South, were present in 
large numbers, and by their attendance added to the 
brilliancy of the affair. A chronicler of the period says. 
" the number of ladies in attendance was estimated at 
eight hundred, while neaily two thousand horsemen 
were assembled on the Held. The stands, the fences, 
the trees, the tops -of carriages and every eminence over- 
looking the course were crowded; probably not less than 
ten thousand persons composed the assembly, compris- 
ing not only several distinguished Senators, and nearly 
the entire Kentucky delegation in Congress, with their 
families, but all the elite of the beauty and fashion of the 
State." Henry Clay and John Jay Crittenden, the two 
United States Senators from Kentucky, were there with 
ex-Senator Porter, of Louisiana, and with them Gover- 
nor Poindexter, General Atkinson, Major Stewart, Gen- 
eral Hardin, Judges Rowan and Woolly and other dis- 
tinguished citizens, principally of the South, with repre- 
sentatives from Ohio and other Northern and Western 
States. 

From the day the stake closed betting had gone on 
spiritedly with Wagner always the favorite. From New 
York to New Orleans, for many months, odds were 



63 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



freely offered on Wngner ngninst the Held, but the State 
loyaityoflhe Keiituckians never wavered for a single 
moment. They backed Grey Eagle magnificently for 
the first heat and even for the race, and it is said that 
not a Kentuckian on the ground put a dollar on Wag- 
ner, even after their favorite had lost the first heat. The 
race was another of those old-time four-mile heat con- 
tests, and the first two heats were won and the event 
settled by Wagner, who came in a neck ahead. The 
time of the heats was 7 minutes, 48 seconds, and 7 
minutes, 44 seconds. The finish, which was one of the 
most sensational in the history of the American turf 
was thus described by the late Mr. William T. Porter, 
the brilliant tLirf writer of that period: 

"From the Oakland House home it was a terrible 
race. By the most extraordinary exertions Wagner got 
up neck and neck with the gallant grey as they swung 
round the turn into the quarter stretch. The feelings of 
the assembled thousands were wrought up to a pitch 
absolutely painful. Silence the most profound reigned 
over that vast assembly as these noble animals sped on 
as if life and death called forth their utmost eneigies. 
Both jockeys had theii' whip hands at woi'k, and at 
every stroke each spur, with a desperate stab, was 
buried to the rowel head. Grey Eagle for the first 
hundred yards was cle.irly gaining, but in another 
instant Wagner was even with him. Both were out 
and doing their best. It was anybody's race yet; now 
Wagner, now Grey Eagle has the adv.intage. " If will 
be a dead heat!' 'See, Grey Eagle's got him!' 'No, 
Wagner's ahead!' A moment ensues — the people shout 
— hearts throb — ladies faint — a thrill of emotion — and the 
race is over. Wagner wins by a neck in 7 minutes. 44 
seconds, the best race ever run south of the Potomac; 
while Kentucky's gallant champion demonstrates his 
claim to that proud title by a peiformance which 
throws into the shade the most brilliant ever made in 
his native State." 

Discussion over the relative merits of the two horses 
was intensified rathei- than quieted by this performance. 
Everybody agreed that Wagner was better managed 
and better ridden than Grey Eagle, and the friends 
of the latter horse based their dissatisfaction with the 
result upon the firm belief that their favorite's defeat 
was alone attributable to the bad riding of his jockey. 
One turf authority of the period wrote: " What might 
have been the result of the race we cannot pretend to 
say, but we assert with perfect confidence, our belief 
that with Gilpatrick on his back, Grey Eagle would 
have won the second heat. . . . The two horses 
were so nearly matched that good generalship and good 
riding did the business." It was not in the nature of 
things that the matter should be allowed to rest where 
it was. The Southern blood was up, and under the cir- 



cumstances a second race between the great champions 
became inevitable. Backers of both horses set on foot 
measures to have another test at the same meeting. The 
match was really forced by the admirers of Grey Eagle, 
but unprejudiced outsiders looked upon the affair with 
grave doubts, for it was generally considered that neither 
horse was in a physical condition that warranted sub- 
jecting him to another severe strain upon his prowess so 
shortly after the other. 

On October s, the Saturday following the Monday on 
which the first I'ace had taken place, the second one was 
run upon the same course for the Jockey Club purse of 
$1,500, conditions as before, four-mile heats. In addi- 
tion to Wagner and Grey Eagle, Captain Willa Viley's 
four-year old brown filly, Emily Johnson, own sister to 
Singleton, by Bertrand out of Black-Eyed Susan by 
Tiger, was entered. Cato, who had piloted Wagner to 
his previous victory, again had the mount, and Stephen 
Welch, despite his failing with Grey Eagle five days 
before, again rode that horse, as no substitute could be 
found for him. The antepost betting was all in Wag- 
ner's favor, at 2 and 3 to 1, even the friends of Grey 
Eagle regretfully conceding that another severe race 
within a week might be too much for him. When it 
was announced that a second four-mile contest between 
these two champions was on the card, an immense 
crowd of spectators gathered to witness the affair, for 
the entire country, for fifty or seventy-five miles about 
Louisville, turned out almost as one man, while many 
visitors came from Cincinnati and other distant points. 
As before, on the day of the race, the ladies constituted 
a considerable proportion of the spectators. 

When the word was given Wagner went off in the 
lead with Emily second and Grey Eagle last, but at the 
first half mile post the three were lapped. Then Grey 
Eagle drew out a little, but up the stretch Wagner came 
again in front, Grey Eagle, however, soon leading again 
and coming to the stand by half a length, being about 
two lengths ahead at the end of the fourth mile. In 
spite of a brilliant rally by his opponent, he increased 
the distance and when, after Wagner had declined, 
Emily Johnson challenged him, he was still kept to 
the head. He could not now be overtaken and came 
home a gallant winner by nearly a length, Emily Johnson 
taking the second place and Wagner being third. The 
first mile was run in 2 minutes, 5 seconds, the second in 
I minute, 55 seconds, the third in 1 minute, 56 seconds, 
and the fourth in i minute, 55 seconds, making the time 
for the heat 7 minutes, 51 seconds. 

Supporters of Grey Eagle now felt as much elated as 
they had heretofore been depressed. Kentucky was 
still a unit in support of its champion and the odds 
changed from 2 and 3 to i in favor of Wagner, until 
Grey Eagle had the call at 4 to }, many large sums of 



64 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



money being staked. In the seconJ lieat the pace at the 
start was little better than a hand gallop for the first half 
mile, with Wagner in the lead. The Kentucky horse 
soon locked his rival from Louisiana, and they made the 
first mile neck and neck in 2 minLites, 8 seconds. 
Immediately after passing the stand Grey Eagle went to 
the front, but at the end of the second mile, which was 
run in i minute. S2 seconds, the champions were again 
neck and neck. At the end of the third mile, in 1 min- 
ute, ss seconds, Wagner had his head and neck in front 
ind for the last mile there was one of the fiercest struggles 
that had ever been seen upon the Southern turf, at the 
end of which Wagner came through a winner by a neck, 
having run the last mile in 1 minute, 48 seconds, and the 
heat in 7 minutes, 43 seconds. It was said "that for 
an untried four-year old Grey Eagle's performance was 
without a parallel in the annals of the American turf, " 
and although defeated, he had covered himself with 
glory. In the final spurt for the finish, Emily Johnson 
was quite lost sight of and did not even save her distance. 
The third heat was a catastrophe, as the beautiful grey 
horse broke down soon after passing the half mile post 
in the second mile, Wagner winning the heat; but no 
time was kept. 

Perhaps few events connected with the turf about the 
middle of the century attracted more attention, or were 
productive of more animated discussion among horsemen 
and other frequenters of the race course than the struggle 
for supremacy between those two great half brothers, 
Lexington and Lecomte, and the wonderful performances 
of the latter in reducing the record that then stood for 
four-mile heats. The first great race between these 
splendid thoroughbreds came off in April, 1854, for the 
great State Post Stakes on the Metairie Course, in New 
Orleans, four- mile heat for all ages. The subscription 
to the stake was $5,000, representatives of the States of 
Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi being the 
subscribers. The Kentucky horsemen named Lexington, 
Lecomte represented the State of Mississippi, while 
Alabama was represented by Highlander and Louisiana 
by Arrow. Interest in the event was at fever heat and 
many of the most distinguished gentlemen of the period, 
among them ex-President Millard Filmore, occupied 
seats in the judges' and the grand stand. It was thought 
by the shrewdest turfites of the time that the breeding 
of the swift-footed Lecomte promised better results than 
that of his white-legged and white-nosed half brother. 
In this expectation, however, they were grievously 
mistaken, for the son of Alice Carneal won in two 
straight heats, distancing Highlander and Arrow and 
leaving Lecomte not a very good second, the time being 
8 minutes, 8% seconds, and 8 minutes, 4 seconds. 

Of course the supporters of Lecomte were not at all 
satisfied with this result and were still willing to pin faith 



upon their horse. Accordingly a week later, on the 
eighth day of the month, the two rivals again came 
together on the same course for the Jockey Club Purse 
of $2,000, the chestnut gelding Reube, by imported 
Trustee out of Minstrel by Medoc, also contending for 
the honors. This was really the first great contest 
between the two future champions and the event called 
out a great attendance upon the race course, more than 
ten thousand people being present. The ladies made 
a goodly show on the stands reserved for them, and 
were not at all averse to betting upon their favorite 
Lexington. The race was intensely exciting. As one of 
the newspaper reports put it, "since the great race of 
Fashion, on Long Island, in 1842, and George Martin's 
7 minutes, )} seconds, and 7 minutes, 43 seconds, in 
New Orleans, in 1843, there had been nothing like it; 
and in all its incidents from the start to the victory, it 
will always be remembered as pre-eminently the greatest 
four-mile race on record." Betting was extremely heavy, 
Lexington being the favorite, first at even money against 
the field, and afterward 100 to 80 against the field, and 
100 to 60 against Lecomte. 

The result of the race was a great surprise, nobody 
having calculated upon or anticipated the great victory 
that Lecomte was able to achieve. Reube cut no figure 
in the running, although in the first heat he made by 
far the best time he had ever made in his life; but he 
was wholly outclassed, barely escaping being distanced 
in the first heat, while in the second he was not even 
able to escape being caught behind the red flag. 
Lecomte led off in the first heat and kept his position 
throughout the four miles, although Lexington several 
times made a brush and partly closed the gap. At no 
time, however, was he able to outfoot his rival, and 
Lecomte won by six lengths, in much the quickest time 
ever made in the world, 7 minutes, 26 seconds. Betting 
now changed with Lecomte the favorite, 100 to 40 
against the field. Lexington led the way from the score 
for nearly two miles in the second heat, maintaining a 
distance of about two lengths. Upon entering the 
third mile, Lecomte overhauled and passed him, and 
throughout this mile there was a constant struggle 
between the two, with Lecomte slightly in the lead. 
Holding this lead throughout the next mile he came 
home a winner by four lengths, in 7 minutes, 38;-^ 
seconds, and was proudly hailed " as the best race horse 
ever produced on the turf." The respective miles of 
each heat were run in 1 minute, 53 seconds, 1 min- 
ute, =,4 seconds, i minute, 49}^ seconds, and 1 min- 
ute, 49J3 seconds for the first heat, and 2 minutes, 
2 seconds, i minute, 58 seconds, i minute, 40 seconds, 
and I minute, 52^ seconds for the second heat. 

Now the dissatisfaction rested on the shoulders of the 
backers of Lexington, and another test of the respective 



65 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



merits of the two horses was proposed. Upon the 
refusal of the owners of Lecomte to make a third match, 
Mr. Richard Ten Broeck. Lexington's owner, determined 
to settle the question in another way, by running his 
stallion over the Metairie Course against time. He 
claimed that when he was defeated by Lecomte. the 
stallion was not in good condition and was badly ridden, 
and was confident that he would be successful in another 
trial. He issued a challenge for Lexington to run a 
single four miles against the fastest time at that distance 
on record in America for the sum of $20,000, or to run 
him against any named horse, a race of four-mile heats. 
As an alternative proposition, he offered to run Lexing- 
ton over the Union Course, on Long Island, in October 
of the same year, on a wager of $25,000 against $20,000. 
After a long controversy between Mr. Ten Broeck and 
Colonel T. J. Wells, who was then the owner of 
Lecomte, two distinguished Virginia horsemen. Colonel 
Calvin Green and Captain John Belcher, accepted the 
challenge to run Lexington against time. 

The trial came off April 2, 1855, in the presence of an 
immense concourse of people. The track was in excellent 
order, the horses in fine condition and the weather con- 
ditions perfect, the day being one of the loveliest of the 
season. The judges for this historic occasion were 
General Stephen M. Westmore, who represented the 
Virginia turfmen, who were backing time, Mr. Arnold 
Harris to represent Mr. Ten Broeck and Mi'. John G. 
Cocks, president of the Metairie Jockey Club. The 
tuners were the Honorable Duncan F. Kenner, Captain 
William J. Minor and Mr. Stephen D. Elliott. The betting 
was heavy and Lexington was a strong favorite at 100 
to 75 against time and a few takers at that figure. The 
celebrated Gilpatrick had the mount, and started in at a 
hot pace, making the first mile in 1 minute, 47^ seconds. 
The second mile was made in 1 minute, 52^4^ seconds, 
the third mile in i minute, si/^ seconds and the 
fourth mile in 1 minute, 48;'/t seconds, the entire four 
miles in 7 minutes, 1934 seconds, carrying 103 pounds. 
This knocked off 6'X seconds from the great feat of 
Lecomte in the earlier race, and it remained the world 
record for a single four-mile brush until twenty years 
later when it was lowered by Ten Broeck and Fellow- 
craft. And yet, great as was the triumph of Lexington, 
many who witnessed the race were confident that had it 
been necessary, he could have finished the four miles in 
at least 10 seconds less time. 

Again, in April, 1855, the giants met in a third fierce 
struggle. By this time the entire country had become 
excited over the rivaly between the two, and there was 
a general consensus of opinion that the respective merits 
of the horses must be again put to the test. The owners 
and backers of Lexington were confident of his prowess, 
while those who spoke for Lecomte declared that his 7 



minutes, 26 seconds was better than Lexington's 7 min- 
utes, \()ji seconds, from the fact that the latter had all the 
advantage of running alone and choosing the close side 
of the track and having a long start, so that he received 
the word "go " at full speed. Arrangements were made 
for the running of the two horses on April 24, over the 
Metairie Course, for a Jockey Club purse of $1,000, with 
an inside stake of $2,soo each. Lexington was the 
general favorite of the public, and stood in the betting at 
100 to 80. Gilpatrick bestrode Lexington and the negro 
jockey of General Wells was in the saddle of Lecomte. 
When the signal to start the first heat was given, the 
two horses went up the quarter stretch neck by neck. 
Lexington, slowly drawing ahead, flew by the stand at 
the end of the first mile, three-quarters of a length in the 
lead, in 1 minute, 4C)^2 seconds. About the middle ot 
the second mile, the son of Reel made a desperate effort 
and laid himself alongside his rival, nose by nose, but 
was able to hold this advantage only a few seconds, for 
Lexington drew himself a clear length in the lead at the 
close of the second mile, which was run in 1 minute, si 
seconds. Throughout the third mile Lexington was not 
headed at all, and covered the distance in i minute, 51 
seconds, and made the last mile in i minute, 52X 
seconds, going with a spirit as if he had just begun to 
run, while Lecomte, only by a desperate rally, escaped 
by a few lengths the humiliation of being distanced. 
The time of the heat was 7 minutes, 233-j[ seconds, un- 
precedented as being the fastest heat that was ever made 
in a match. When the time arrived for starting the 
second heat the owner of Lecomte withdrew his horse 
while the purse and the laurels were awarded to the 
Kentucky champion. 

The last great match between the North and South 
was run May n, 184s, four-mile heats, for $10,000 ;i 
side, between Mr. Kirkland's Peytona, a five-year old by 
imported Glencoe, dam by imported Leviathan, repre- 
senting the South, and Mr. W. H. Gibbons' Fashion, 
eight years old, standing for the North. The course 
was extremely hard under a thick layer of dust, after a 
long drouth, and was not as well adapted for speed as 
on some former occasions. In the first heat Peytona 
outfooted Fashion from the stand and kept the lead 
throughout by about two lengths, winning well in hand 
in 7 minutes, 39%! seconds. In the second heat Peytona 
again trailed Fashion and won cleverly by half a length 
in 7 minutes, 4^j{ seconds. The winner, who was 
bred in Alabama, was in all respects an extraordinary 
mare, fully 16 hands, 3 inches in height, with a stride 
that was said to cover 27 feet. No better pedigree than 
hers for eight generations back to Tasker's Selima then 
existed. Her sire, Glencoe, her dam by imported 
Leviathan, her grandam by Sir Archy, and their ances- 
tors back to imported Othello, Selima and Godolphin 



66 



THE AMERICAN' TURF 



Anibinii constituteti the very aristocracy of equine 
blood. 

Among other notable turf events of the decade or 
more just preceding the Civil War, the exploits of 
Charleston, Sue Washington, Dallas, Kale Hunter, Don 
juan, Marksman, Birdcatcher and others merit some- 
thing more than mere passing attention. Of first rank 
among these, perhaps, may be named the achievement 
of Charleston on the Chattahooche Course at Columbus, 
Ga., in March, 18S7. The race was a colt stakes for 
three-year olds. Three horses came to the post, Char- 
leston by imported Sovereign; Don Juan by imported 
Glencoe, dam Darkness by Wagner, and Birdcatcher by 
Oliver, a son of Wagner, dam by American Eclipse. The 
first heat was won by Charleston lapped the entire mile 
by Don Juan, the time being i minute, 46 seconds. 
In the second heat the three horses closed into a cluster 
about the termination of the first quarter, after a bad 
start on the part of Charleston, and ran to the head of 
the stretch, when Charleston increased the rate of goinsf, 
which ended in a dead heat between Charleston and 
Don Juan, with Birdcatcher a good third, time i minute, 
46 seconds. In the third heat Don Juan got off well 
ahead, with Birdcatcher second and Charleston in the 
rear, in which order they came home, Don Juan winning 
the heat in i minute, 48'^ seconds. In the fourth heat 
Don Juan led off, with Birdcatcher and Charleston 
following, but Charleston moved up and took the lead 
some six hundred yards from home, winning the heat 
and race with apparent ease, time i minute, 47}^ seconds. 
This was said then to have been the best race ever 
run at mile heats by three-year olds in the United States. 
Charleston belonged to the stable of Messrs. Puryear 
& Watson, Colonel David McDaniel owned Don Juan 
and Mr. H. E. Barton owned Birdcatcher. Adding 
the time of the successive heats together, it will be seen 
that they make an aggregate of only 7 minutes, 8 
seconds for four miles, which is \i^{i seconds less than 
the wonderful time made by Lexington in his great 
exploit on the Metairie Course in New Orleans in 185s- 
But four days later at this same meeting Charleston was 
beaten by Sue Washington and Frankfort for the Post 
Stakes, four-mile heats, winning only the first heat in 7 
minutes and 39 seconds. Another record breaking feat of 
the early period of the American turf were Charleston's 
fourth heat in i minute, 46 seconds over the Washing- 
ton Course, Charleston, S. C, the first three heats 
having been run respectively in i minute, 49;^^ seconds; 
I minute, 47J2 seconds and i minute, 50 seconds. 
Charleston beat Nicholas I. and Ada Tevis over the 
same course, 2-mile heats, in 3 minutes, 43^ seconds; 
3 minutes, 39^^ seconds and 3 minutes, 44 seconds. 
Again on the same course he beat a Darkness colt 
in 3 minutes, 40}^ seconds and 3 minutes, 43 seconds. 

67 



Another great four-mile race, which, in many respects, 
was one of the most exciting ever run in the South, was 
over the Chattahooche Course, at Columbus, Ga., in 
April, 1857. The entries were Messrs. Campbell and 
Barton's Lizzie McDonald, formerly Sue Washington, 
Mr. Thomas Puryear's Charleston, and Colonel David 
McDaniel's Frankfort. Before the hour of starting, 
Charleston was a favorite over Lizzie McDonald, it being 
reported that the latter had made a bad trial run. The 
betting was about even between Charleston and the field, 
the latter, however, being slightly the favorite. In the 
first heat Lizzie McDonald had the track, with Charles- 
ton second, and Frankfort outside. At the close of the 
first mile Charleston took the track, and from that time 
led on the line, coming home the winner in 7 minutes 
and 39 seconds, Frankfort just dropping in to save his 
distance. As the track was in a very heavv state from the 
rain of the previous day, this was regarded as one of 
the best heats ever run in .America. In the second 
heat Charleston had the track and kept it throughout 
until on the home stretch Frankfort dashed in ahead in 
lightning speed, leading Charleston by a head, who was 
a neck before Lizzie McDonald. The time was 7 min- 
utes, 40 seconds. Lizzie McDonald won the third heat in 
8 minutes, the last two miles being run in 3 minutes, 47 
seconds. Charleston was drawn before the fourth heat 
was entered upon, and Lizzie McDonald easily took the 
heat in 8 minutes and ijjt^ seconds, thus winning the 
race. It is not a pleasant fact to recall that Frankfort ran 
himself to death on this occasion, expiring on the even- 
ing of the race. Charleston also suffered considerably 
from his efforts, but it is said of Lizzie McDonald that 
"next day she appeared as fine as silk and as playful as 
a kitten." 

Three cracks of their day, Charleston, Nicholas 
I. and Engineer, were entered to meet in a fierce 
struggle on the Fashion Course on Long Island, 
September 29, 1857. The event had been looked for- 
ward to with deep interest by turfmen and the public 
generally. The great reputation of the three horses, 
and the renown of their sires, encouraged expectation of 
a notable trial of endurance and speed. Previous to the 
day of the race. Nicholas I. had the favor in the betting, 
at 1,000 to 900, against both his rivals, and 1,000 to Ooo 
against Charleston, while Ssoo even was offered between 
Charleston and Engineer. The stake was for $3,000. An 
immense crowd of spectators witnessed the event. A 
report of the time says that "every conceivable charac- 
ter of vehicle, from a railway car to a coal cart, was put 
in requisition to take anxious people to the course, and 
at half-past two, the time named for the race, the black 
masses that lined the stands and strewed the field, gave 
evidence of a larger number of spectators than had ever 
before been seen upon that ground. Crowds of ladies 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



graced the scene and displayed a bank of beauty and of 
fashion that would have honored any occasion." 

An unfortunate accident befell the gallant Charleston 
the day before the race, when he was in prime condition. 
A stirrup iron struck the tendons of his ankle, so as to 
cause him to go lame. This made it necessary to draw 
him from the race, and only Nicholas i. and Engineer 
started. Nicholas I. was by Glencoe out of Fanny 
Rhodes by Wagner, and was four years old at the time 
of this event. His defeat of Sue Washington and Toler 
over the Fashion Course in the previous June, in 7 min- 
utes, 40 seconds, and 7 minutes, 43 seconds, had given 
him a prestige which had been added to by his defeat of 
Sue Washington and Philips over the same course in 
the same month in 7 minutes, 30 seconds, and 7 min- 
utes, 44j4 seconds. He was owned at one time by Mr. 
Richard Ten Broeck, afterward by Mr. William H. 
Gibbons, and then by Mr. John R. Hunter. He twice 
beat the best time of Sir Henry and American Eclipse, 
and at four years old was regarded as one of the most 
promising horses that tlie country had up to that time 
produced. 

Engineer was a tive-year old, by Revenue out of 
Andrewetta, the dam of Bostona and others. He was 
bred by the Honorable John M. Botts, of Virginia. 
Andrewetta was sired by the celebrated Andrew out of 
an Oscar mare of high reputation. She ran several races, 
and at Raleigh, N. C, in a stake for four-mile heats, 
distanced the field in 7 minutes, 46 seconds. Engineer, 
when he appeared against Nicholas 1., was the hero of 
two good races, the first being two-mile heats on the 
Fashion Course in 3 minutes, 42^ seconds, 3 min- 
utes, 43^-^ seconds, and 3 minutes, 45^2 seconds, and 
the second being two three-mile heats in 5 minutes, 42)^ 
seconds each. Charleston was by imported Sovereign 
out of Milwood by imported Monarch out of Fanny, by 
Eclipse. Both his sire and grandsire were imported by 
Colonel Wade Hampton, of South Carolina. His dam 
was bred by Colonel Hampton, and his grandam 
was run by Colonel Johnson and Colonel Hampton for 
several campaigns. As a two-year old, Charleston won 
the South Carolina stakes at the Washington Course in 
February, i8s6, and, in December of the same year, 
was second to Sue Washington at Columbus, Ga., beat- 
ing Nicholas I., Dallas and Shocco. After winning the 
Hutchinson Stakes over the Washington Course in 
Charleston, four-mile heats, in 18S7, he also at the same 
meeting beat Nicholas I., Ada Tevis, and Doswell's 
Revenue filly, winning the last two heats in 3 minutes, 
39^2 seconds, and 3 minutes, 4s seconds. He also had 
other notable achievements to his record. 

With Charleston withdrawn, this race over the Fash- 
ion Course between Nicholas I. and Engineer was a 
foregone conclusion. The famous jockey, Gilpatrick, 



rode Nicholas 1., and allowed Engineer to lead the way 
in the first heat, running his horse easy some three 
lengths behind. Toward the end of the third mile he 
closed up on Engineer and, passing him on the home 
stretch, led by the stand into the fourth mile a length 
ahead. From this time on he trailed his rival until down 
the home stretch Engineer closed up toward his fiank. 
Nicholas I., however, gradually increased his distance, 
pLitting on more speed and passed the stand five or six 
lengths in advance, winning the heat in 7 minutes, 4s 
seconds. In the second heat Engineer took the lead as 
in the first and ran freely with several lengths in hand, 
being five lengths ahead at the end of the first mile, and 
two lengths ahead at the end of the second mile. When 
near the half mile pole on the third mile, Nicholas 1. took 
the lead easily and passed into the fourth mile six 
lengths ahead, winning the heat in 7 minutes, 47;'2 
seconds. 

The crowd which attended the fall meeting on the 
Fashion Course, in i8s8, was said to have been the 
largest that had ever patronized any racing meeting in the 
North since that which gathered on the old Union Course 
to witness the memorable match between Fashion and 
Peytona. On this later occasion when Nicholas I., Tar 
River and Sue Washington fought for supremacy, there 
was an assemblage of some twelve thousand people, very 
many of whom were ladies. The meeting was especially 
memorable from the fact that a heat was run, which, in 
the estimation of many experts, when the difference in 
favor of the old Union Course and the newer Fashion 
Course as to fastness was considered, was superior to 
the great exploit of the famous chestnut mare Fashion 
years previously. In this great four-mile contest only 
Nicholas I., Tar River and Lizzie McDonald started, 
although there were eight nominations. In the betting 
Nicholas 1. stood even with Lizzie McDonald and 100 to 
80 against the field, but Tar River also had his backers, 
and considerable sums were placed on him at 40 to 100 
against the field. Gilpatrick rode Tar River, and led off 
in the first heat with Nicholas 1. a length behind and Sue 
Washington trailing. The race continued in this fashion 
to the end, Tar River making the running and Nicholas I. 
and Sue Washington coming up close behind. Tar 
River won handily in 7 minutes, 50^ seconds, with 
Nicholas I. second and the mare third. 

In the second heat Nicholas I. took the lead with Tar 
River thundering upon his haunch and forcing him close 
throughout the first two miles, with the mare only a 
length or two behind. The son of Glencoe passed into 
the third mile flying, with a lead only of a length, and 
into the fourth mile the same obstinate struggle of the 
two leaders continued. The mare gave out just as they 
passed the stand into the fourth mile, but Nicholas came 
in the winner of the heat by two lengths, with Tar River 



68 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



second ;ind Sue Washington distanced, in the fast time of" 
7 minutes, 3s seconds. The third heat belonged to 
Nicholas 1. I'rom start to finish, akhough several times 
Tar River gallantly came up close and contended for the 
lead. Nicholas 1. finished two or three lengths ahead, in 
7 minutes and 50 seconds. This race was considered the 
best that had ever taken place over the Fashion Course, 
and as game a contest as had ever been seen anywhere. 
Nicholas !., by his achievement, fully established his rep- 
utation as one of the foremost race horses in the country 
at that time. 

It was at the May meeting of 1861, on the Woodlawn 
Course at Louisville, that Molly Jackson ran her memor- 
able three-mile race. This meeting was altogether one 
of the few brilliant events of that epoch, and the four- 
year old chestnut filly was the star of the occasion. 
She started in on the opening day by winning the four- 
mile race for the Challenge Cup in 7 minutes, 34^^ sec- 
onds, in such easy style that it was clear she could have 
come home some seconds faster if she had been called 
upon to do it. Another great feat of this meeting was 
the performance of Idlewild, who ran the second 
heat of a mile heat race in i minute, 44>2 seconds, the 
best time at that distance that had ever been seen in 
Kentucky. Molly Jackson was by Vandal, out of a 
dam by Margrave. On this occasion she was pitted 
against three descendants of the great Boston, Mr. J. S. 
Hunter's four-year old colt, Sherrod by Lecomte out of 
Picayune; Mr. John M. Clay's four-year old colt, Colton 
by Lexington, out of Topaz by Glencoe, and Mr. H. B. 
Foley's four-year old filly, Bettie Ward by Lexington, 
out of a dam by Whalebone. 

In the betting prior to the race Molly Jackson was 
the favorite with Colton picked for second place. Three 
heats were run, the first of which was won easily by 
the favorite by two lengths, with Colton second, the 
time being 5 minutes, 3s --^ seconds, the third mile of 
the heat being run m i minute, 45^3 seconds. The 
second heat was run in s minutes, 34;'^ seconds, being 
won by Sherrod, who led the Vandal filly at the finish 
by half a length. Molly Jackson retrieved herself in the 
third heat, which she won in the phenomenal time of 5 
minutes, 28^4 seconds, with Sherrod second, Bettie 
Ward third and Colton fourth. The ninth mile of this 
great race was run in 1 minute, 48 ':( seconds, the pre- 
ceding two miles of the heat being run respectively in i 
minute, 50^ seconds, and i minute, 49|<( seconds. 
Only once had this time been beaten in a three-mile 
heat, and that was by Brown Dick, who ran in 5 
minutes, 28 seconds, having the advantage of carry- 
ing weight as a three-year old. The mile record in 
this race was only 11^4 seconds more than the 
present record time for a mile dash, and the time of 
the third heat is only 3-4 of a second more than the 



best record time for a three-mile heat made by Norfolk 
in 1865. 

The racing season of 1872 was made particularly 
memorable by contests between several of the greatest 
horses of the modern American turf. Particularly the 
rivalry between Harry Bassett, Longfellow and Mon- 
archist, stirred up the racing public to the highest pitch 
of excitement. The interest in such events of recent 
years as the Suburban, Futurity and Brooklyn Handicap 
may, perhaps, give an idea of that which was felt in 
those early events a quarter of a century ago, to which 
we are here referring. No races of less importance, how- 
ever, have in later years attracted any such general atten- 
tion on the part of either turfmen or the general public. 
Harry Bassett, who had then scarcely passed his prime, 
was considered by many to be the greatest runner of his 
generation, and he held a high position as a popular 
favorite among those who knew little more about racing 
than the names and stories of the winners. Longfellow 
was still a popular and professional favorite, and Mon- 
archist was looming up as a coming champion, destined 
to perpetuate the memory and carry the colors of his 
great sire, Lexington, for many years to come. The 
partisans of the Leamington blood, represented by Long- 
fellow, and the believers in the virtue of the Lexington 
stock, represented by Harry Bassett and Monarchist, 
were especially stirred up by the rivalry between these 
three great champions, whose merits were everywhere 
discussed with a fervor that sometimes was dangerously 
near to acrimony. 

The meeting between Longfellow and Bassett in the 
race for the Monmouth Cup on the second day of the 
Long Branch meeting. July 2, 1872. was the first of these 
noted events of that season. It was the first time that 
Longfellow had met Harry Bassett, and great concern 
was felt in the affair all over the country. The event 
was thoroughly well advertised and attracted to Long 
Branch hundreds of visitors who rarely, if ever before, 
had seen a race track. When Longfellow was brought 
from Louisville to Long Branch he had the dignity of a 
special car which bore on a great placard the announce- 
ment, " Longfellow going to Long Branch to meet his 
friend, Harry Bassett." All along the route of his jour- 
ney he received the attention that is generally accorded 
to a dignitary on his travels, and few people who read 
the newspapers were allowed to remain in ignorance of 
the forthcoming event. 

Not less than thirty thousand people were present 
upon the day set apart for the Monmouth Cup race, and 
in this vast concourse speculation was pretty evenly di- 
vided regarding the relative merits of the two champions. 
If anything, however, Longfellow was the favorite. 
This arose somewhat from the effect of the recent 
brilliant victories of his near kinsman and companion. 



69 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Lyttleton, nnd the odds that were originally strongly in 
favor of Harry Bassett, declined somewhat as the day 
and hour of the race approached. Still, it was the 
opinion of the great majority of those who had sup- 
ported him that it was impossible for him to lose. He 
came to Long Branch fresh from two victories, in one of 
which he distanced Metella, his sole opponent, running 
the last mile of a second two-mile heat in i minute, 46 
seconds, in a sense this particular cup race partook 
somewhat of the old-time interstate feature that charac- 
terized so many of the early American races, Harry 
Bassett being the property of Colonel David McDaniel, 
of Virginia, while Longfellow, owned by Mr. John 
Harper, carried the colors of Kentucky. Longfellow had 
never been beaten in a true-run race when he was in 
condition, his great race with Helmbold at Saratoga 
being lost because he was entirely unfit. Harry Bassett 
also had the highest reputation as one of the truest, 
steadiest and most trustworthy runners ever stripped on 
the course. 

When the horses came out the appearance of both ex- 
cited admiration and renewed the fondest expectations 
of the partisans who were backing them. Longfellow, 
large in stature and length, was in the pink of condition 
and fit to run for a man's life. It was remarked that few 
horses are ever brought to the post in better shape than 
he appeared on that day. On the other hand, Harry 
Bassett, to all outward appearances, bore no unfavorable 
comparison with his rival. He looked well, but, as the 
event proved, was not after all in quite the condition 
that he should have been in order to insure success. 
When the signal was given for the start Harry Bassett 
had a little the best of it and made the running. Long- 
fellow came close behind him with a beautiful sweep- 
ing stroke that enabled him to cover the ground with 
ease and to hold his own. Soon the slight difference 
between them was closed and, although at the begin- 
ning of the first turn Harry Bassett led by a length, they 
were neck and neck at the end of the first mile, which 
was run in 1 minute, 44 seconds. From this point on it 
was Longfellow's race, he gradually increasing the dis- 
tance, first by a neck and then inch by inch until, at the 
mile and a half, which was run in 2 minutes, 37;;-^ sec- 
onds, he was a good length and a half ahead. Then 
Harry Bassett's faint heart showed itself. With his rival 
leading him he sulked and quit, while Longfellow won 
in a canter in 4 minutes, 34 seconds, having fully sixty 
yards to the good. The result was a severe blow to 
those who had pinned their faith upon the son of Lex- 
ington and Canary Bird, but it showed conclusively that, 
however much speed and endurance Harry Bassett might 
have, and however much courage he might display 
when he was leading the field or making the pace, he 
lost spirit when he was headed and could not be 



depended upon to snatch victory from impending 
defeat. 

Only two weeks later Longfellow and Harry Bassett 
met again, this time at Saratoga, in the race for the Sara- 
toga Cup. The event is of historic interest as being the 
final appearance of Longfellow upon the turf. The out- 
come of the race for the Monmouth Cup had stimulated 
interest in this second meeting of the champions and the 
attendance was one of the largest that had ever graced 
the Saratoga Course. When the trumpet sounded for 
the great performance of the day Harry Bassett first ap- 
peared and made a splendid impression, being appar- 
ently in perfect condition and in far superior fettle than 
he had been at Long Branch. The dark brown and 
mighty son of Leamington was likewise in good condi- 
tion, and his long, sweeping stride, as he went along 
the stretch in a preliminary gallop, impressed all who 
saw him with a full sense of his prowess. The chestnut 
horse, Defender, was also run, but with no expectation 
that he would be in at the finish. The odds were heavy 
on Longfellow and just before the flag fell ran up as 
high as 1,000 to 250. 

All three horses got away at the first effort, Harry 
Bassett and Longfellow leading off together with De- 
fender behind, the latter horse resolutely maintaining his 
place throughout the race, but gradually lettmg in more 
light between himself and the leaders as the course was 
covered. When the grand stand was passed at the end 
of one mile, which was run in i minute, 45/2 seconds, 
Harry Bassett was leading, and in another quarter had 
increased his lead to a length. Froni that point on it was 
a struggle ofequine giants. First one, and then the other 
was a nose, a neck, a length ahead, and at the end of 
two miles, which was run in about 3 minutes, 30 sec- 
onds, Longfellow again had Harry Bassett headed. At 
this point the son of Leamington changed his feet and 
in a second faltered in his stride, allowing his rival to 
pass him and to win the race easily in 3 minutes, 59 sec- 
onds. When the horses came off the course it was 
apparent that Longfellow was broken down; in fact, he 
finished the race on three feet, giving away on the near 
side forward. The sole of his foot was cut by a broken 
plate and the tendons were injured so that he could 
scarcely stand. Although suffering and partly crippled, 
he was game to the end and ran to the finish with an 
extraordinary display of force and endurance, being 
finally beaten only by one short length. He never re- 
covered from this injury and the race course never saw 
him again. 

Harry Bassett now reigned supreme on the turf in the 
estimation of many individuals, but it remained for his 
half-brother Monarchist to lower his colors a few months 
later in the same season. It was at Jerome Park in 
October in the race for the Maturity Stakes, three miles, 



70 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



thnt these two champions first met. Akhoush Monarch- 
ist iiad achieved notable triumphs in his three-year old 
form, having already won the Mansion House Stakes at 
Monmouth Park and the Louisiana and Grand Inautjural 
Post Stakes at New Orleans earlier in the season, there 
were few who believed him able to come to the front on 
this occasion. Harry Bassett was a stronjf favorite; in 
fact, so far as the betting was concerned Monarchist 
scarcely had any place at all, the odds being lo to i 
against him. 

At the start Harry Bassett got away in IVont, but Mon- 
archist c]uickly closed up and stuck to his rival firmly, so 
that the first half mile was run almost head by head. 
Then Harry Bassett drew away by a length, but Mon- 
archist declined to allow him to hold this advantage, 
contesting inch by inch and finally pushing his head in 
front at the furlong pole in the last mile, won out by 
fully three lengths. Again the lack of courage in Harry 
Basset was manifest, for he quit when he found that the 
race was no longer his. Monarchist was, to be sure, in 
first rate condition, but it was generally believed that 
Bassett could not have failed winning had he possessed 
the courage of his competitor. The time of the race was 
5 minutes, 34,'3 seconds, which was slow. But the 
track was heavy and the turning of the course did not 
contribute to high speed. An interesting comparison 
has been made between the time of this race and the 
time of other three mile races about the same period. 
Norfolk ran three miles in California in s minutes, 27 
seconds, carrying 100 pounds, while Monarchist carried 
108 pounds; Idlewild, in her famous four-mile race, ran 
the last three miles in ^ minutes, 27^ seconds, carrying 
117 pounds; Mollie Jackson, in her third and winning 
heat at Woodlawn as a four-year old, with 101 pounds, 
made a record of 5 minutes, 28^ seconds; and at Sara- 
toga, Fleetwing ran three miles in s minutes, }\H 
seconds. 

A week after the race for the Maturity Stakes Mon- 
archist and Bassett met again at Jerome Park in a purse 
for all ages, four miles. Three sons of Lexington joined 
in the fierce rivalry of this occasion— Harry Bassett, Mon- 
archist and King Henry. The interest that might have 
attached to a contest between horses representing differ- 
ent sires was here absent, but the standing of the two 
champions and their notable performances heretofore, 
especially Monarchist's recent Maturity victory, was 
sufficient to guarantee a profound public attention to 
any event in which they were engaged. Monarchist 
again demonstrated his superiority by winning this race 
in 7 minutes, }}% seconds, with Bassett second and 
King Henry a poor third. 

Few races in contemporaneous times have excited more 
general interest than the famous match between Ten 
Broeck and Mollie McCarthy under the auspices of the 



Louisville Jockey Club, July 4, 1878. Ten Broeck had 
long been regarded as standing at the head of the Ameri- 
can turf, and his name upon the card of any event was 
sure to awaken the greatest enthusiasm. Mollie Mc- 
Carthy was the champion, of California, and upon 
the Pacific slope was regarded as quite invincible. 
The relative merits of the two horses had been under 
discussion more or less for a long time, and turfmen 
generally looked forward with eagerness to a test race 
between them. The California people were particu- 
larly urgent in regard to the matter, for they believed, or 
affected to believe, that their favorite mare could easily 
lower the colors of the great son of Phaeton. A match 
was accordingly arranged and the mare was brought on 
from California. 

Upon the day of the match, which was the third day 
of the extra July meeting of the Louisville Jockey Club, 
there was an enormous crowd in attendance, estimated 
to be between twenty-five and thirty thousand people, 
by far the largest that had ever been upon these grounds. 
Visitors from all over the country were present, and es- 
pecially many from the Pacific coast. Kentucky was 
faithful to its belief in Ten Broeck and backed him 
heavily, his superb condition strengthening the hopes of 
those who had placed their faith and their money upon 
him. Mollie McCarthy did not make as favorable an 
impression, although she was very handsome in appear- 
ance, thoroughly blood-like and with unmistakable signs 
of quality. The race, as arranged, was for four-mile 
heats. On the first heat the two horses got away at an 
even start, the mare inside, and ran evenly to the quar- 
ter in 28 seconds. By the time they had passed the 
half-mile pole the mare was a little ahead and in this 
position they raced to the stand in 1 minute. 49:'4 sec- 
onds. To all appearances, at this point, the race 
belonged to California, for Mollie McCarthy was running 
beautifully and easily without effort, while Ten Broeck 
was making heavy work of it. 

Throughout the second mile, which was run in i 
minutes 4y;{ seconds, the relative position of the two 
contestants remained practically unchanged, and it was 
not until they had passed the two-mile and a half post 
that Ten Broeck drew ahead and led by an open length. 
At the completion of the third mile he had the lead by 
fully twenty yards in 5 minutes, 53 seconds. For the 
next half mile, although the mare was beaten, she 
struggled gamely on, continuing the proverbial stern 
chase that is always a long one. Losing ground at 
every stride, her courage failed her and she gave up 
the contest. Ten Broeck was able to gallop home 
leisurely with the mare distanced, the time of the heat 
being 8 minutes, 19^ seconds. The time was very 
slow, for the track was in a bad condition, sticky and 
stiff with mud from a rain the previous night. Both 



71 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



horses felt the effect of the h;ird p:ice at which they were 
run, MoHie McCarthy being in a complete state of collapse 
and Ten Broeck plainly showing the effect of his severe 
work. 

Probably when the world-renowned Lexington 
achieved his record-breaking feat of four miles in 7 
minutes, \qli seconds in 185s. few who were familiar 
with the turf and knew the possibilities for great accom- 
plishments that lay in the American thoroughbred 
imagined that the record would stand unchallenged for 
nearly a generation. There were other great four-milers 
in those days, and the number was constantly added to 
of those whose speed and endurance gave promise 
of their being able to rival the best of those who 
had preceded them. Nevertheless, nineteen years 
elapsed before Lexington's record was lowered, al- 
though it was many times challenged in regular 
races, if not in specially arranged matches. Only 
after the Civil War had passed and the modern 
American turf was entering upon one of the most brill- 
iant periods of its existence, was another serious attempt 
made to cut down this record. It is somewhat the more 
surprising, perhaps, that this should have been enter- 
tained at a time when the character of the American thor- 
oughbred and of the events in which he displayed him- 
self were undergoing important and significant change, 
the day of the staunch old four-miler having nearly 
passed away, while the reign of the speedy horse for 
sharp, quick work at short distances had almost exclu- 
sively supervened. But that the staunchness of the great 
heroes of the early race course was in nowise absent 
from their descendants in consequence of these changes 
in racing practice was a tenet that was sedulously 
adhered to by many of the most prominent turfmen, and 
it was a source of satisfaction to them when the oppor- 
tunity was presented to have this theory put to test. 

Fellowcraft, to whom was set the work of demon- 
strating the ability of the contemporaneous thoroughbred 
to hold his own in comparison with the great horses of 
previous generations, was a son of imported Australian 
and Aerolite, his dam being by Lexington, out of Florine. 
in his pedigree he thus combined the excellences of the 
great horse whose record he now challenged, and who 
stood unrivaled in the affections of the American public _ 
with that of the new strain which was already being 
looked upon with much favor, and in certain quarters 
was regarded as certain to overtop the hitherto unap- 
proachable blood of Lexington, Boston, Sir Archy and 
Glencoe. Fellowcraft's match against Lexington's time 
came off at Saratoga in August, 1874, as one of the 
regular events of the Saratoga meeting, and attracted 
widespread attention. The success of the great son of 
Australian in beating the time of his maternal grandsire 
by }i of a second, and fixing the record for four miles at 



7 minutes, iq}2 seconds, was regarded then, as it is now, 
as a wonderful achievment. It was only to be compared 
with Lecomte's 7 minutes, 26 seconds, Lexington's 7 
minutes, 2334 seconds and 7 minutes, iq^ seconds, and 
Idlewild's 7 minutes, 26}^ seconds, in a race on Long 
Island in 1863 when she beat Jerome Edgar and Danger- 
ous. In Fellowcraft's race Wanderer and Katie Pease 
were started to compete with him. and ran with such 
extraordinary speed, bottom and gameness that they both 
finished close up, even sharing honors with the winner. 
It was generally conceded that Fellowcraft's two oppo- 
nents on this occasion fully won for themselves the right 
to stand in the same class as the greatest four-milers of 
the American turf. 

For two years after the event just recorded, the 
record of 7 minutes, iq^4 seconds remained unchallenged. 
Then the great Ten Broeck took issue with Fellowcraft, 
and in 1876 was engaged to run for a special purse of 
$1,000. The race took place as an extra day event at 
Louisville in September, 1876. There were two entries. 
Mr. D. J. Crouse's bay colt Add, four years old, by 
Revolver, running against Ten Broeck. The betting was 
on even terms, but the Revolver colt had no place 
from the moment the start was made. When the signal 
was given Ten Broeck struck a slow pace, but was 
leading at the quarter and improving his speed, and 
made a mile in i minute, s2-'4 seconds. In those figures 
there was little promise of success for a record-breaking 
result, but the jockey quickened his pace and the horse 
covered the second mile in i minute, 45,'3 seconds, 
which was as much too fast, perhaps, as the former 
mile was too slow. Nevertheless, Ten Broeck did not 
slacken to any great extent, but ran the three miles in 5 
minutes, 25 seconds. Add was left a dozen lengths 
behind when the fourth mile was entered upon, and it 
was necessary to send another horse on to the course to 
stimulate Ten Broeck to keep up his speed. The last 
mile he made in 1 minute, so:'4 seconds, and covered 
the entire distance in 7 minutes. \<^^i seconds, thus beating 
Fellowcraft's record by ^^i seconds. 

Ten Broeck's record, for four miles, then stood unap- 
proached for twenty-one years. At last, in 1897, it was 
lowered by Lucretia Borgia to 7 minutes, 1 1 seconds, at 
which point it now remains. Lucretia Borgia was a 
famous California thoroughbred, a chestnut filly, daugh- 
ter of Brutus and Ledette. Her sire, Brutus, was the 
son of MacGregor and Teardrop, MacGregor being by 
Macaroni, dam Necklace, and Teardrop being by Scottish 
Chief, dam Niobe. Ledette was a daughter of Nathan 
Coombs and Gypsy, Nathan Coombs being by Lodi, 
dam Miami, and Gypsy being by Hercules, dam Miami. 
In the fifth generation the ancestors of Lucretia Borgia 
were Sweetmeat, Jocose, The Fallen Buck, Bracelet, 
Lord of the Isles, Miss Ann, Loup Garou, Miserrima, 



72 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Yorkshire, Topaz, Bclinont, Maria Downing and Kings- 
ton. It will be noticed that her pedigree is entirely 
devoid of those crosses which have made the American 
thoroughbreds famous in generations past, and which, 
until very recent years, have been considered as almost 
indispensible in breeding for the turf. 

Lucretia Borgia was a small maie, weighing not more 
than 700 pounds. She was bred by Mr. Charles Boots, 
and, until threeyears old, was known as the Ledette filly. 
As a two-year old she showed that she was speedv and 
was matched against Seraphin. This match never came 
off, however, for an unfortunate reason that resulted, 
however, in giving the mare the new name by which 
she has since been known. Only a few days before the 
time set for the match she fell off in condition. An 
investigation showed that poison had been administered 
to her. She was brought around, although not in season 
to appear in this race, but on account of the poisoning 
episode was named Lucretia Borgia. For years previous 
to her day, the four-mile California record had been held 
by Marigold, 7 minutes, 20X seconds. For the benefit 
of a local charity a match was arranged for Lucretia 
Borgia to beat this record, and the event called out a 
large attendance of the best people of San Francisco 
upon the day the race was run, June 5th. Probably no 
one anticipated the wonderful result. Clawson had the 
mount, and the mare carried 87'j pounds. She took 
the start in fine shape, and the first mile was done in the 
remarkable time of i minute, ^o seconds. She followed 
this up by making the second mile in i minute, 45,'^ 
seconds, the third mile in i minute, 47/2 seconds, and 
the last mile in i minute, 48}^ seconds. The four miles 
was covered in 7 minutes, 1 1 seconds, which was not 
only 9^ seconds better than the California record, but 
4% seconds better than Ten Broeck's world's record, 
8>2 seconds better than Fellowcraft's record, and 8}i 
seconds better than the great record of Lexington, forty- 
two years before, which was then considered unap- 
proachable. 

As has already been pointed out, the great four- 
mile contests that electrified previous generations o( 
American turf followers have forever passed away. In 
place of them as measures for stimulating popular inter- 
est in racing contests, and for affording to owners and 
breeders those substantial financial encouragements by 
which alone the turf can be kept alive, have been sub- 
stituted scores of stake and purse events that are not less 
interesting, as tests of powers, than those older events, 
and even more valuable from the money point of view. 
Every meeting in the great centres of the country now 
has on its cards several of these fixtures, that, during the 
last twenty-five years or less, have risen to the dignity of 
national importance. To a very large extent, the history 
of contemporaneous racing in this closing part of the 



century has centred around them. Many of them have 
become historic and are looked forward to every season 
with the highest expectation. Their records have 
added many notable pages to the annals of the American 
turf, and some of them have been in nowise surpassed 
by anvthing of similar character in the Old World. 

An enumeration and review of all these events that 
have particularly distinguished and made brilliant the 
American turf of the present period, would alone fill sev- 
eral volumes and might be of the greatest interest and 
value to all lovers of the American thoroughbred. Such 
an exhaustive review is, perhaps, scarcely necessary in 
this connection. The names and the character of these 
races have become familiar as household words to every 
one interested in the slightest degree in racing matters. 
Pleasant memories cling around such affairs as the Ran- 
cocas Handicap, the Baltimore Cup and the Dixie, Ches- 
apeake and Bowie Stakes at Baltimore, the Ohio Derby 
and Jockey Club Stakes at Cincinnati, the Blue Grass, 
St. Leger, Kentucky Derby, Great American Stallion 
Stakes and the Louisville Cup at Louisville, the Kentucky 
Stallion Stakes at Lexington, the Alabama, Flash, Travers 
and Saratoga Stakes and the Saratoga Cup at Saratoga, 
the Long Branch Handicap and the Monmouth Cup at 
Long Branch, the Manhattan, Jerome, Nursery, Belmont, 
Maturity, Champagne and other stakes at Jerome Park, 
the Westchester Cup and the Fordham Handicap and 
scores of other cups and stakes that are not secondary in 
interest to those that have been enumerated and whose 
names will readily occur to every reader. An account in 
detail of the racing that has been associated with a few of 
these affairs will give a general idea of the character of 
the contests that have combined to make the American 
turf of this period pre-eminently notable. 

In recent years the Suburban has taken a place in the 
front rank of American turt events. There are other, 
stakes that have had a longer history and that would 
naturally be supposed to secure more general attention 
from the associations connected with them. The great 
value of the Suburban Stakes, however, has commanded 
the entries of the best horses and the event has alwavs 
been a subject of widespread discussion and calculation 
throughout the country for months in advance of its cul- 
mination. The Suburban was established in 1884 by 
the Coney Island Jockey Club. It is a handicap sweep- 
stakes for all ages, entries $100, half forfeit, with $2,300 
added money; the second horse to receive §soo of the 
added money and twenty per cent, of the stakes, and 
the third horse to receive ten per cent, of the stakes. The 
entries have often run up to seventy-five or one hundred, 
and even more, and the entrance and added money 
combined have made the race one of the most valuable 
known to the American turf The Suburban distance is 
i^ miles. 



73 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



In the first running of the Suburban Mr. E. J. McEI- 
meel's General Monroe carried off the prize. General 
Monroe was nut a great race horse, but staunch and 
gamy, and his success in this race was due to a fortunate 
combination of circumstances, rather than to his own 
conspicuous merit. In after years he failed to hold the 
reputation that he had secured as a Suburban winner, 
finally becoming a selling plater and falling a victim to a 
bullet that was put through his head to relieve him from 
the consequences of a broken leg. A popular and well 
merited victory in the Suburban was that of Mr. Pierre 
Lorillard's Pontiac in the second year of the fixture, 188^. 
I'ontiac was an English horse, although he was foaled in 
this country. As a yearling he was taken back to Eng- 
land and added to Mr. Lorillard's stable, but made no 
particular impression upon the turf there and at the end 
of his three-year old form was brought back to this 
country. There was nothing in his first performances 
on the turf here to make him a promising Suburban 
starter. Nevertheless, he won in handsome style, 
defeating the favorite, Monogram, who went to the post 
at odds of 2^ to 1 in a field of fifteen. Pontiac's victory 
was a most decisive one and he cantered home far ahead 
of the entire field, while Monogram never had any 
chance whatsoever. 

The Suburban of 1886 was a sensational affair. Public 
interest was concentrated largely upon Jim Guest, who 
belonged to Captain Samuel Brown, of Pittsburg. The 
same stable was also represented by Troubadour, who 
was so poorly thought of that in the winter betting 
100 to I was freely oH'ered against him. Before he came 
to the post, however, there was an awakening on the 
part of the talent and he started a strong second favorite 
to Lizzie Dwyer at 4 to i. Edward Corrigan owned 
Lizzie Dwyer, who stood a favorite up to the last 
moment at 3 to 1, and it has been said that "she started 
with more wagered on her chances than any animal 
ever had in the turf history of this country." The day 
before the race occurred Troubadour ran the Suburban 
distance, with full weight up, in the phenomenal time 
of 2 minutes, 7^ seconds. When the fiag dropped to 
the start he was the first off and had the race won before 
he had passed out of the first quarter. 

The Suburban for 1887 was in all respects a failure. 
The horses that started were of an ordinary character, 
and none of them were in Ibrm to assure particularly in- 
teresting sport. Eurus, who won, was from the stable 
of Mr. A. J. Cassett and had never had the reputation of 
being a horse who could be depended upon. He 
could run well when he was apparently so disposed 
and, again, would absolutely refuse to budge. After his 
death it was discovered that he had been for years 
suffering with a tumor, which fact probably accounted 
for the many eccentricities that had characterized his 



turf career. There were some rather amusing features in 
the Suburban that he won. The favorite, Richmond, 
who started at 2 to i, had no show whatsoever for 
the race, while Quito, who was a good second favor- 
ite, and Ben Ali, who was also strongly backed, were 
never in it at all, being left standing at the post,. The 
Suburban of 1888 was won by Elkwood, half brother 01 
Eurus, his sire, Eolus, being the only sire who has yet 
begotten two Suburban winners. Elkwood was a rank 
outsider in the betting, even his owner, Mr. Walter 
Gratz, declining to back him. And yet he made a 
splendid finish, winning the race by a head from Terra 
Cotta, who had run in hard luck, being pocketed around 
nearly the entire course. When the Suburban of 1889 
was called only nine of the entries started and none of 
these were horses of great merit. Mr. August Belmont's 
Raceland was an easy winner and his victory was 
popular. Terra Cotta again ran second with Gorgo 
third. 

Salvator, who won the Suburban of 1890, )was the 
greatest race horse that has been on the Arrrerfcan turf in 
the closing decade of the nineteenth century. The son 
of Prince Charlie, his reputation is scarcely second, per- 
haps, even to such great turf idols as Lexington, 
Lecomte, Iroquois and others who have held first place 
in public estimation and admiration. In his two and in 
his three-year old form he was sometimes defeated by 
such horses as Longstreet and Proctor Knott, but, de- 
spite those reverses, he showed a form when he was in 
condition that was little short of marvelous and that en- 
deared him to everybody. Only nine horses started in 
this Suburban, but among them were such cracks as 
Salvator, Tenny, Firenze, Raceland, Prince Royal and 
Longstreet. Salvator was a hot favorite. He carried 
127 lbs. and came in a good winner after a gallant fight 
that lasted from start to finish, the only horse in the 
field that gave him much concern being Cassius, who 
had not been considered in the running at all. Fully 
thirty thousand persons saw Salvator's great victory and 
it was, as has been truly said, " the first time the event 
offered a contest worthy of the pride of place accorded 
to it as a leading classical feature of the American turf" 

Three rank outsiders came in first, second and third 
in the Suburban of 189 1 with Loantaka at the head. The 
odds of 25 to I were laid against Loantaka in the ring 
and it is said that his owner, Mr. David McCoun, would 
never have started him had it not been for the strenuous 
insistance of his jockey, Martin Bergen, who believed 
that he had a good fighting chance. Montana, ridden by 
" Snapper" Garrison, came in at the head of the field in 
1892, a victory that was extremely popular. In this race 
Lamplighter, who was third, ran a great race, being 
beaten only a neck and a head for first honors. In 1895, 
Lamplighter was a favorite for the great handicap, which 



74 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



looked like a foregone certainty for him. But again he 
ran third, the race being won by Lowlander, an out- 
sider, who was, however, looked upon with a slight 
degree of expectancy. Ramapo's Suburban in 1S94 was 
one of the most brilliant performances that had ever 
distinguished the event. There were twelve starters, 
the winner being a strong favorite at 8 to 5. In the 
field were such cracks as Sir Walter, Henry of Navarre, 
Banquet and Pickpocket, stars of the first magnitude in 
the equine world, and yet, notwithstanding the noble 
character of his opponents, Ramapo was easily the best 
horse in the race, and one of the very best that has 
ever succeeded in winning the Suburban in the fifteen 
years of its existence. The race was a magnificent 
spectacle from start to finish and, when Ramapo flashed 
by the stand in 2 minutes, 6V5 seconds, the enthusiasm 
knew no restraint. He beat the time made by the 
famous and popular Salvator, the winner of the i8qo 
Suburban, by three-fifths of a second and was two-fifths 
of a second faster than Lowlander, who came in at the 
head of the field in 1893. 

in 1895, Domino was the favorite at odds of 20 to 11. 
Domino was regarded as peerless among the horses of 
that year, and was a great public idol. The talent was 
hard hit when Lazzarone came in at the head in 2 min- 
utes, 7% seconds, the odds against him in the betting 
having been 6 to i. with 6 to i against Sir Walter, who 
was second, and 10 to i against Song and Dance, who 
was third. To the consternation of the admirers of 
Domino that horse quit at the end of a mile, plainly 
showing the lack of those staying qualities that are 
needed to place a thoroughbred in the first rank. Laz- 
zarone, who was by Spendthrift out of Spinaway, beat 
Sir Walter by two good lengths. It was Henry of Na- 
varre's Suburban in 1896. Only a small field engaged, 
seven horses coming to the start. Nevertheless the race 
was one of the greatest that had been seen on the 
course for many years and the son of Knight of Ellerslie 
established himself by his performance as one of the 
greatest horses of his generation. He was a favorite in 
the betting at 2 to i and won the race driving by a 
length, with The Commoner second, Clifford third and 
Belmar fourth. In 1897, Ben Brush, the best horse in 
the field, made a very satisfactory race and landed by 
a length, defeating Havoc, The Winner and others. 
The struggle in the last quarter of a mile was one of 
the fiercest ever seen in a Suburban event, and the 
time — 2 minutes, 7% seconds—compares favorably with 
the best Suburbans that had preceded it. The time of 
Henry of Navarre — 2 minutes and 7 seconds — was only 
four-fifths of a second slower than Ramapo's record, 
one-fifth of a second slower than Salvator's, two-fifths 
of a second slower than Lowlander's and the same as 
Loantaka's. 



Although the Suburban holds almost unchallenged its 
pre-eminent position in the support of turfmen and in the 
interest of the general public, there are other events 01 
the course that have become historic and are looked for- 
ward to every season with the highest expectation. 
Scarcely second to the Suburban in popular interest and 
in value from all points of view of the turfman, is the 
annual race for the rich Realization Stakes of the Coney 
Island Jockey Club. It is a sweepstakes of 1 mile and s 
furlongs, and is a test of speed as well as endurance. It 
has furnished some of the best contests that have ever 
been witnessed upon the course at Sheepshead Bay, and 
is regarded as the greatest of three-year old events. The 
added money is $10,000, and the second horse receives 
two-thirds of the starting money and $2,000, while the 
third horse takes the remaining one-third of the starting 
money and $1,000. In 1889, the year that this event was 
established, Salvator, carrying 122 pounds and ridden by 
Murphy, was the winner in 2 minutes, 51 seconds, the 
value of the purse being $34,100. In the second year 
Tournament, carrying ii2>^ pounds and ridden by Hay- 
ward, came in at the head of the field in 2 minutes, s i 
seconds, carrying away for his owner, $25,300. Another 
2 minutes, 51 seconds winner was Potomac, in 1891. He 
carried 119 pounds and was ridden bv Hamilton. 
The purse this year amounted to $30,850. The 
fourth year of the Realization saw Tammany at the 
front with 119 pounds weight and ridden by Garrison. 
The time was 2 minutes, 51% seconds, and the amount 
of the purse §28,470. Daily America, ridden by Sims 
and carrying 107 pounds, was the victor in 1893, his 
time being 2 minutes, 50% seconds, and the purse 
amounting to $24. 170. 

So far as time was concerned the Realization of i8c)4 
was a fiat failure. Dobbins, who cariied 122 pounds 
and was ridden by Sims, could only make the course in 
2 minutes, 55 seconds, winning §3j;.4oo. The following 
year did not show much improvement, the time of the 
winner being 2 minutes, S4% seconds. Bright Phoebus, 
carrying 115 pounds and ridden by Reiff, passed by 
the post first, and took away with him a purse of 
.$29,700. In the Realization of 1896, seven horses were 
on the card, but Hamilton II. was scratched at the last 
moment. Requital, the famous crack from the Brook- 
dale stables, was a strong favorite. His performance 
fully justified the confidence that had been placed in him. 
Carrying 1 19 pounds, this gallant son of Eothen ran the 
distance in 2 minutes, 49-;-, seconds, lowering by i\i, 
seconds the record which, up to that time, had been held 
by Daily America at 2 minutes, 50% seconds. In 1897 
The Friar was the winner, covering the course in 2 
minutes, 48% seconds. 

The Brooklyn Jockey Club Handicap is a race of a mile 
and one-quarter, run over theCravesend Course, it was 



75 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



started in 1887, when Dry Monopole was the winner, 
witii Blue Wing second and Hidalgo third, with a field 
of fourteen horses behind them. The time was 2 min- 
utes, 7 seconds, and the amount of the stake $5,850. 
Dry Monopole was a son of imported Glenelg. In the 
second year, 1888, The Bard, a son of Longfellow, de- 
feated a field of thirteen others, with Hanover second and 
Exile third, in 2 minutes, 13 seconds, winning $6,925. 
in 1889, Exile, who was third in the running the 
previous year, a son of imported Morremer, was at the 
head of the field of seven contestants. Prince Royal being 
second and Terra Cotta third. The time was 2 minutes, 
71/ seconds, and the stake amounted to $6,900. in 1890, 
Castaway II., Badge and Eric, came in respectively first, 
second and third in a field of nine, the winner being a 
son of Outcast. The time of the event this year was 2 
minutes, 10 seconds, and the amount of the purse $6,900. 
Tenny, in 1891, beat a field of twenty-one in 2 minntes, 
10 seconds. Prince Royal being second and Tea-Tray 
third. The stake amounted to $14,800. Tenny was a son 
of imported Rayon d'Or. In the sixth year of the event 
Judge Morrow, Pessara and Russell led a field of twelve 
at the finish, the time of the winner. Judge Morrow, 
being 2 minutes, 8;'^ seconds, and the purse amounting 
to $17,7=10. Judge Morrow was a son of Vagabond. 

In 1803. three cracks led the field of thirteen in the or- 
der named, Diablo, Lamplighter and Leonawell, the 
winner being a son of Eolus. The time this year was 2 
minutes, 9 seconds, and the value of the stakes $17,500. 
Three other great cracks led off in 1S94, Dr. Rice coming 
first by the stand in 2 minutes, -j^i seconds, with 
Henry of Navarre and Sir Walter second and third, win- 
ning $17,750, and establishing the fame of his sire, Onon- 
daga. Hornpipe, by imported Mr. Pickwick, headed 
Lazzarrone and Sir Walter in iSqs, the three leaving a 
field of nine behind them. The time of the winner was 
2 minutes. 11,!^ seconds, and the amount of the stakes 
$7,7S0. In i8c,6, Sir Walter carried off the honors from 
a field of eight with Clifford second and St. Maxim third. 
The time was 2 minutes, 8,'-.; seconds, and the stakes 
were $7,7^0 Sir Walter was a son of imported Mid- 
lothian. In 1897, Howard Mann, by Duke of Montrose, 
covered the course in 2 minutes, 9^ seconds, defeating 
ten contestants and winning $7,750. Lake Shore ran 
second and Volley third. It will been seen that the 
track record for this event is 2 minutes, 7 seconds, estab- 
lished by Dry Monopole, the first year that the handi- 
cap was run. The nearest approach to Dry Monopole's 
figure has been Dr. Rice's 2 minutes, 7X seconds, in 
1894, and Exile's 2 minutes, 7>^ seconds in 1889. The 
largest stakes were in 1892 and again in 1894, when they 
amounted to $17,750. 

in its value to owners the Futurity of the Coney Island 
Jockey Club that is run at the annual summer meeting 



gives first place to none of the great stakes. It is a 
sweepstakes for two-year olds, with $8,750 added, the 
second horse receiving $1,000 and two-thirds of the 
starting money, and the third horse $soo and one-third 
of the starting money. The breeders of the winner, and 
of the second and third horses receive respectively, 
$2,000, $1,250 and $500 out of the added money. The 
Futurity course is about three-quarters of a mile. Estab- 
lished in 1888, the first winner of the Futurity was Proc- 
tor Knott, his time being 1 minute, is '2 seconds. The 
winner that year had $40,900 to his credit. In 1889, 
Chaos came in at the head of the field in 1 minute, i6| 
seconds, winning $54,550. Potomac reduced the record 
in 1890 to I minute, 14} seconds, winning $67,675. 
The record went up one second in 1891, when His High- 
ness was the winner with $61,675 for his share of the 
stakes. In 1892, there was another drop in the time 
record and also in the profits of the race, Morello getting 
$40,450 for running the course in i minute, 12I- seconds. 
Domino took $49,350 in 189? with a record of 1 minute, 
12| seconds. In the following year came the great 
achievement of The Butterflies, who knocked the figures 
of the record down to 1 minute, 11 seconds, which was 
i\ seconds better than Morello's time, thus far the record 
time for the event, 4^4 seconds faster than Proctor 
Knott's initial record, and 5-| better than the slowest 
Futurity time. The amount of stakes for the winner this 
year was $63,950. Requital, in 1895, made a good race 
and won $53,750, but his time was | of a second slower 
than that of The Butterflies. In 1S96. Ogden took the 
honors, lowering the time of The Butterflies by i second, 
to 1 minute, 10 seconds, and winning $44,290. When 
the race was run in 1897. L'AIlouette re-established the 
record of The Butterflies, 1 minute, 11 seconds, which 
was 1 second slower than Ogden's best record for the 
event. 

A special sentimental interest attaches to the Kentucky 
Derby. It is one of the famous events of the season in 
the home of the American thoroughbred and its very 
name carries with it suggestions of the most glowing 
pages of turf history in this country and in England. It 
would be difficult to find a genuine turfman who does 
not feel his pulses quicken at the very thought of Ken- 
tucky and the Derby. The event is also interesting from 
the fact that it has always marked the opening of the 
great spring meeting in Louisville. From a purely specu- 
lative point of view it has always had an absorbing pub- 
lic interest, since its contestants have come forward com- 
paratively untried, so that they have been largely un- 
known quantities in their form of that year. They have 
come to the post with something of a mystery attached 
to their prospects, and this has given an additional filip 
to the event. The race is for three-year old colts and 
fillies, i>^ miles distance, with $2,500 added money, 
76 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



$iOO to the second horse and $iso to the third. In sucli 
popular esteem is this race held that the Legislature of 
the State of Kentuci<y has been i<nown to adjourn its 
session so that its members might attend the race, thus 
following the example of the Knglish Parliament in ad- 
journing over for the great National Derby of Hngland. 

The Kentucky Derby winners have, as a rule, been 
horses who, in their subsequent careers, have arisen to 
decided piominence on the turf. In 187s, the first year 
of the event. Aristides, son of Leamington, was ridden 
by Louis to victory in 2 minutes, 37;54. seconds. In 1876, 
Vagrant, son of Virgil, was ridden over the course in 2 
minutes, }S% seconds, an easy winner. Baden Baden, 
by Australian, and lidden by Walker, won the event in 
2 minutes, 38 seconds, in 1877. The following year. 
Day Star, by Star Davis, carried his colors to the front in 
2 minutes, }"]}( seconds. Lord Murphy, son of Pat 
Malloy, was the winner in 1879, his time being 2 min- 
utes, 37 seconds, establishing the record for the event 
for eleven years. The great Fonso, son of King Alfonso, 
headed the field in 1880, his time being 2 minutes, 37^4 
seconds. For several ensuing years the time of the race 
rose to higher figures, although several horses of the 
first class were among the winners. The best that 
Hindoo, the son of Virgil, could do in 1881, was 2 min- 
uets and 40 seconds, but that was quite sufTicient to 
enable him to carry off the prize. 

In the following year Apollo lifted the record by a 
quarter of a second, and, in 1883, Leonatus, son of Long- 
fellow, discouraged everybody by dragging over the 
course in 2 minutes, 43 seconds, with the field behind 
him. In 1884, the field was commonplace, and Bu- 
chanan, son of Buckden, won out in 2 minutes, 4o'4' 
seconds. Since 1884, the winners, and their time, in 
successive years have been as follows: 1885, Joe Cotton, 
2 minutes, 3-]'4 seconds; 1886, Ben Ali, 2 minutes, 36^2 
seconds; 1887, JVlontrose, 2 minutes, 39X seconds; 1888, 
Macbeth II., 2 minutes, 38K seconds; 1889, Spokane, 
2 minutes, 54)^ seconds; 1890, Riley, 2 minutes, 4^ 
seconds; 1 891, Kingman, 2 minutes, 52^ seconds; 1892, 
Azra, 2 minutes, 413^ seconds; 1893, Lookout, 2 minutes, 
39 ;i seconds;"! 894, Chant, 2 minutes, 41 seconds; 189s, 
Halma, 2 minutes, 37>4 seconds. In 1896, the distance 
was reduced to one and one-quarter miles, and Ben 
Brush won in 2 minutes, 7^+ seconds; 1897, Typhoon 
II.. 2 minutes, 12% seconds. 

The wonderful development of the thoroughbred in 
the United States during the present generation, is 
always an interesting subject of consideration wherever 
and whenever turf matters are under discussion. It lias 
excited the attention and the admiration of the world 
and has particularly impressed itself in a ve^ practical 
way upon the minds of our English cousins, when they 
have been compelled to see American bred horses 



carrying off some of the choicest prizes in their historic 
racing events. As throwing a light upon this subject 
and as illustrating the steady advance in achievement of 
the American thoroLighbred, it is interesting and impor- 
tant to note that, with a single exception, the best 
performances for all events upon the American turf have 
been within the last twenty-five years. The record, 
which is well worth preservation as an important part 
of the history of our turf, is here presented. It is com- 
plete and accurate down to the close of the racing 
season of 1897, and gives in order the distance run, the 
name, age, weight and sire of the record holder, the 
place and date where the record was made and the 
record time. 

Dashes, best at all distances: 'X n\[\e, Bob Wade, 4, 
Butte, Mont., August 20, i8t)o, 0.21X) /-« mile. Red S., 
aged, 122 lbs., Butte, Mont., July 23, 1896, and Fashion, 
4, Lampasas, Tex., August 15, 1891, 0.34; }-2 mile, Ger- 
aldine, 4, by Grinstead, 122 lbs.. New York Jockey 
Club, straight course, August 30, 1889, 0.46, and April 
Fool, 4, 122 lbs., Butte, Mont., July 23, 1891, 0.47; 4'j 
furlongs, Handpress, 2, by Hanover, 100 lbs.. New York 
Jockey Club, straight course, May 26, 1897, 0.52; ii 
mile. Maid Marian, 4, by Great Tom, 111 lbs., New 
York Jockey Club, October9, 1S94, and George F. Smith, 
4, 100 lbs.. San Francisco, California Jockey Club, 
May 7, 1893, 0.5634; 5}^ furlongs. Tormentor, 
6, by Joe Hooker, 121 lbs., New York Jockey 
Club, October 10, 1893, 1.03; ji of mile, less 170 
feet, Kingston, aged, by Spendthrift, 139 lbs., Coney 
Island Jockey Club, Futurity Course, June 22, 1891, 1.08; 
34 mile. Domino, 2, by Himyar, 128 lbs.. New York 
Jockey Club, straight course, September 29, 1893, 1,09; 
and O'Connell, s, 121 lbs., Oakley, O., July 18, 1895, 
\.\2}i; 6l4 furlongs, Wernberg, 4, by Muscovy, in 
lbs., Coney Island Jockey (21ub, August 28, 1895, and 
Irish Reel, 3, by Exile, 108 lbs.. Coney Island Jockey 
Club, August 31, 1895, 1.19^5; Ji mile, Bella B., s, by 
Enquirer, 103 lbs., Monmouth Park, straight course. July 
8, 1890, 1.23)2, and Clifford, 4, by Bramble, 127 lbs.. 
Coney Island Jockey Club, August 20, 1894, i.2s-f,; 7,'^ 
furlongs, Mamie Scott, 3, by Canny Scott, qo lbs., San 
Francisco, Cal., October 17, 189s, 1.33K; > mile, Sal- 
vator, 4, by imported Prince Charlie, no lbs.. Mon- 
mouth Park, straight course, August 28, 1890, 1.3s,'-'; 
Libertine, 3, by Leonatus, 90 lbs., Chicago, III. (Har- 
lem), October 24. 1894, 1.3834'; Arab, 8, by Dalnacar- 
doch, 93 lbs., New York Jockey Club, June 11, 1894, 
and Ducat, 4, by Deceiver, 113 lbs.. Coney Island 
Jockey Club, August 28, 1894. 1.39, and Kildeer, 
4, by imported Darebin. 91 lbs., Monmouth Park, 
straight course, August 13, 1892, i.;7,'4; ' rnile and 20 
yards, Maid Marian, 4, 101 lbs., by imported Great Tom, 
Chicago, Washington Park, July 19, 1893, 1.40; i mile 



77 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



and 70 ynrds, Lillian Lee, 3, 95 lbs., Chicago, Harlem 
Park, July 31, 1894, \.43'A; 'tV m''", Redskin, 
6, by Runnymede or imported Pontiac, 98 lbs., Forsyth, 
Ind., June 6, 1896, \.4'^H; '/^ miles, Tristan, 6, by 
imported Glenelg, 114 lbs., Morris Park, N. Y., June 2, 
1891, i.5i>^; iiV miles, Henry Young, 4, by Duke of 
.Montrose, 108 lbs., Chicago, Washington Park, July 14, 
1894, 1.58^^; \}( miles. Banquet, 3, by imported 
Rayon d'Or, 108 lbs., Monmouth Park, straight 
course, July 17, 1890, 2.03}^; Salvator, 4, by imported 
Prince Charlie, 122 lbs , Coney Island Jockey Club, 
June 25, 1890, and Morello, 3, by Eolus, 117 lbs., 
Chicago, III.. Washington Park, July 22, 1893, 2. 0=^; i 
mile and 500 yards. Bend Or, 4, by Buckden, 115 lbs., 
Saratoga, N. Y., July 2s, 1882, 2. io>^; lyV miles. Sir 
John, 4, by Sir Modred, 116 lbs.. New York Jockey 
Club, June 9, 1892, 2. 14^4 ; lYa miles, Sabine 4, by 
Rossington, 109 lbs., Chicago, Washington Park, July 5, 
1894, 2.18^; ij4 miles. Buckwa, 6, 103 lbs., San Fran- 
cisco, California Jockey Club, December 24, 1897, 
2.32}^, Lamplighter, 3, by Spendthrift, 109 lbs., 
Monmouth Park. August 9, 1892, and Evanatus, aged, 
by Leonatus, 75 lbs., Chicago. Harlem Park, August 
28, 1897, 2.32^4; 15-^ miles, Hindoocraft, 3, by Hindoo, 
75 lbs., Morris Park, N. Y., August 27. 18S9, 2.48; and 
Exile, 4, by imported Mortemer, iis lbs., Sheepshead 
Bay, N. Y., September 11, 1886, 2.48^^; i^4 miles, 
Ben Holladay, 4, 118 lbs.. New York Jockey Club, 
October 23, 1897, 2.S9;4; ij/s miles, Enigma 4, by 
Enquirer, qo lbs., Sheepshead Bay, N. Y., September is, 
1885, 3.20; 2 miles, Newton, 4, by imported Billet, 107 
lbs., Chicago, Washington Park, July 13, 1893; and Ten 
Broeck, 5, by imported Phaeton, 1 10 lbs., Louisville, Ky., 
May 29, 1877, in a race against time, 3.27^ ; 2^8 miles, 
Joe Murphy, 4, by Isaac Murphy, 99 lbs., Chicago, Har- 
lem Park, August 30, 1894, 3.42; 2}/ miles. Springbok, 
5, by imported Australian, 114 lbs.; and Preakness, 
aged, by Lexington, 114 lbs., Saratoga, N. Y., July 29, 
1875, 3-56^; 2)4 miles, Aristides, 4 by imported Leam- 
ington, 104 lbs., Lexington, Ky., May 13, 1876, 4.27^4 ; 
2^/3 miles. Ten Broeck, 4, by imported Phaeton, 104 lbs., 
Lexington, Ky., September 16, 1876, 4. 38^^; 2^ miles, 
Hubbard, 4, by Planet, 107 lbs., Saratoga, N. Y., 
August 9, 1873, 4-58^^; 3 miles, Drake Carter, 4, by 
Ten Broeck, 115 lbs., Sheepshead Bay, N. Y., Septem- 
ber 6, 1884, 5.24; 4 miles, Lucretia Borgia, 4, by 
imported Brutus, 85 lbs., Oakland, California Jockey 
Club, May 20, 1897, 7. 11. 



Heats, best two in three: ^ mile. Sleepy Dick, aged, 
Kiowa, Kan., October 19, 1888, 0.21,^, 0.22% ; >4 
mile, Eclipse, Jr., 4, Dallas, Tex., November i, 1890, 
0.48, 0.48; Bogus, aged, by Ophir, 113 lbs., Helena, 
Mont., August 22, 1888, 0.48, 0.48; and Bill Howard, s, 
122 lbs.. Anaconda, Mont, August 17, 1895, 0.47^^, 
0.48^4 ; 4,' 2 furlongs, Susie S., aged, by Iron wood, Santa 
Rosa, Cal., August 25, 1889, o.S5, 0.55^; fi mile, Kittie 
Pease, 4, by Jack Hardy, 82 lbs., Dallas, Tex., November 

2, 1887, 1. 00, 1. 00; % mile, Lizzie S., 5, by Wanderer, 
118 lbs., Louisville, Ky., September 28, 1883, 1.13X, 
\.\3y2, and Tom Hayes, 4, by Duke of Montrose, 
107 lbs., Morris Park, N. Y., straight course, June 17, 
1892, i.io>2, \.\2i/i\ Ja mile, Hornpipe, 4, by imported 
St. Mungo, 105 lbs., Chicago, West Side Park, July 19, 
1888, 1.30, 1.50; I mile, Guido, 4, by Double Cross, 
117 lbs., Chicago, Washington Park, July 11, i8qi, 
1.41'j, 1.41J2; IV18 miles; Slipalong, 5, by Longfellow, 
IIS lbs., Chicago, Washington Park, September 2, 1885^ 
i.SO>2, 1.48; I '4 miles, Gabriel, 4, by Alarm, 112 lbs., 
Sheepshead Bay, N. Y., September 23, 1880, 1.56, 1.56; 
I'i miles. Glenmore, <^, by Glen Athol, 114 lbs., Sheeps- 
head Bay, N. Y., September 2S, 1880, 2.10, 2.14, Mary 
Anderson, 3, 83 lbs., winning the first heat in 2.09; i V3 
miles. Patsy Duffy, aged, 11 s lbs., Sacramento, Cal., 
September 17, 1884, 2.41^4, 2.41; 2 miles, Bradamante, 

3, by War Dance, 87 lbs., Jackson, Miss., November 
17, 1877, 3.32, 3.29, Miss Woodford, 4, 107K' lbs., 
Sheepshead Bay, September 20, 1884, 3.33, }.}i]i\ 
3 miles, Norfolk, 4, by Lexington, 100 lbs., Sacramento, 
Cal., September 23, 1865, s.27>4, s-29,'^ ; 4 miles, Ferida, 

4, by Glenelg, 105 lbs., Sheepshead Bay, N. Y., Septem- 
ber 18, 1880, 7.23}^, 7.41, and Glenmore, 4, by Glen 
Athol, 108 lbs., Baltimore, Md., October 2S, 1879, '].}o''/i, 
7.31 ; Willie D., 4, ids lbs., winning the first heat in 7.29K'. 

Heats, best three in five: }2 mile, Haddington, 6, by 
Haddington, 118 lbs., Petaluma, Cal., August 28, 1883, 
o.49>^, o.so>^, o.49;^4. Aunt Betsy, 3, 106 lbs., winning 
the first heat in 0.49^ ; f^ mile. Gleaner, aged, by im- 
ported Glenelg, 112 lbs., Chicago, Washington Park, 
July s, 1886, 1. 15, \.\4y2, i.isj^; I mile, Thad Stevens, 
aged, by Langford, 100 lbs., Sacramento, Cal., July 8, 
1873, i.43>2; 1.46^^, 1.45, Thornhill winning the first 
and second heats in 1.43, 1.43; L'Argentine, 6, 115 
lbs., St. Louis, June 14, 1879, 1.43, 1.44, i.^iji; ItV 
miles, Dave Douglas, s, by Leinster, Sacramento, CaL, 
September 23, 1887, i.si>^, i-3ij4, i.5i>^, 1-54. i-50/^, 
first and third heats being dead heats. 



78 



GREAT AMERICAN THOROUGHBREDS 



Champions of the Early Amrrican Turf — Eclipse and Hls Famous Daughters, Ariel and 

Black Maria — Boston and Fashion, the Great Rivals — Sir 

Archy, Glencoe, Lexington, and Others 




MERICAN Eclipse, whose special title to distinc- 
tion rested upon his famous victory over Sir 
Henry, when the tuif of the North and South 
were pitted against each other upon the Long 
Island Union Course in 1823, was bred by General Na- 
thaniel Coles, otTJosoris, Queens County, L. 1., May 2=., 
1814. His sire was Duroc, son of imported Diomed and 
Amanda, by Grav Diomed, who was a son of Old 
Medley. His dam was Miller's Damsel, by imported 
Messenger; his second dam was an English mare, im- 
ported when three years old in i7c)s by William Consta- 
ble, bied by Lord Grosvenor and sired by Pot-8-os, son 
of the great English Eclipse; his third dam was by Gim- 
crack, who was by Cripple, by the Godolphin Arabian; 
his fourth dam was Snap Dragon, by Snap; his llfth dam 
was by Regulus, and his sixth dam by Bartlett's Childers. 
Broken as a three-year old, he started in his first race in 
1818 for a purse of three-mile heats on the Newmarket 
Course, Long Island, on which occasion he defeated 
Black-Eyed Susan and Sea-Gull, the latter being then 
called the best three-mile horse of the day. The follow- 
ing year he was sold to Mr. Cornelius W. Van Ranst, 
and in June, 1819, won the Jockey Club's purse for four- 
mile heats over the Bath Course, on Long Island, defeat- 
ing Littlejohn and Bond's Eclipse and James Fitz James. 
Four months later he again ran four-mile heats at Bath, 
defeating Littlejohn, Fearnought and Bond's Eclipse, 
winning the race in two straight heats in 8 minutes, 13 
seconds and 8 minutes, 8 seconds. 

After making two seasons in the stud, he was put into 
training again in 1821, and in October of that year 
entered the race for four-mile heats over the new Union 
Course. His competitors on this occasion were Lady 
Lightfoot, by Sir Archy, Flag of Truce, by Sir Solomon, 
and Heart of Oak. The two last named horses were 
drawn after the first heat, and Lady Lightfoot was dis- 
tanced in the second heat. The time was, first heat, 8 
minutes, 4 seconds; second heat, 8 minutes, 2 seconds. 
In May, 1822, he defeated Sir Walter, by Hickory, in a 
race of four-mile heats on the Union Course, the time 
being, first heat, 7 minutes, 54 seconds, and second 
heat. 8 minutes. In the following October he won 
another race of four-mile heats on the Union Course for 
a purse of $1,000. defeating Sir Walter, the Duchess of 
Marlborough, by Sir Archy and Slow and Easy by Duroc. 



The first heat of this race was run in 7 minutes, 58 sec- 
onds and in the second heat Eclipse had it all his own 
way. Sir Walter stopping short and the two mares being 
withdrawn. His next great achievement was his sensa- 
tional defeat of Henrv upon the Long Island Course in 
May, 1823. Soon after this event he passed into the 
stud, having been sold for what was at that time the 
remarkably large price of ,$10,000. He stood one sea- 
son in Virginia, one or two seasons in B.iltimore, then for 
a short time in New York, and finally being employed in 
Kentucky, lived to a ripe old age, leaving a long list of 
distinguished sons and daughters whose descendants 
have conveyed his blood into the best thoroughbreds of 
.American origin of the present day. 

Of the immediate progeny of American Eclipse was 
the fleet mare Ariel, whose wonderful achievements 
certainly entitled her to the distinction of ranking with 
the best race horses of any age or clime. Ariel was got 
by American Eclipse out of a dam by Financier, being 
bred in 1822 by Mr. Gerrit Vanderveer, of Flatbush, L. 1. 
Her grandam was Empress by imported Baronet; her 
great grandam by imported Messenger. She combined 
the three valued crosses of Herod, Matchem and Eclipse 
and traced almost directly from Childers, Partner, Crab, 
Snap, Spark, Gimcrack, Mambrino, Medley, Diomed and 
other great English and American horses. She was a 
handsome gray, about fifteen hands high, well propor- 
tioned and powerful in action. Her achievements upon 
the turf were marvelous and it was said of her that no 
horse in the world ever ran or won as many races. In 
her last campaign she ran and won thirty-six miles in 
fifteen days. Beginning in 1823, when she won a hundred 
rods race against an Eclipse filly and a horse by Duroc 
and ending with her last race in May, 1830. when she 
easily defeated Sir Lovell in two straight four mile heats, 
she ran more than 345 miles in fifty-seven races, of 
which she won forty-two, seventeen of them being four 
mile heats. 

During the five years that she was on the turf she 
vanquished almost every horse of distinction from New 
York to Georgia, never laying by nor going lame. With 
five exceptions she sooner or later beat every horse who 
had in the first case defeated her; those exceptions were 
Monsieur Tonson, Sally Walker, Flirtilla. Kate Kearny 
and Arietta. With the exception of one match, that at 



79 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



three years old of three mile heats, she never lost a race 
in which she won a single heat. Her winnings in 
matches and purses, exclusive of bets, amounted to 
something more than $2=5,000. During her career she 
traveled at least three thousand miles, perhaps more. 
One of her most famous performances, especially as 
showing her stoutness, was her sixteen mile race on the 
Newmarket Course, South Carolina, where, after winning 
the second heat of four miles, she closely contested the 
third run in 7 minutes, >7 seconds and won the fourth in 
8 minutes, 4 seconds. Her match with Flirtilla in 
October, 1825. when she was defeated in three heats, 
was one of the sensational events of that day. Among 
her other notable triumphs was the winning of the 
Jockey Club purse at Newmarket in October, 1828, when 
she defeated in four heats Trumpator, Red Murdoch and 
Hypona, the time being 8 minutes, 22 seconds; 8 
minutes, 13 seconis; 7 minutes, 57 seconds and 8 
minutes, 4 seconds. Her race with Betsey Ransom on 
the Duchess Course in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1829, 
was another event that excited intense interest at the time. 
She won in three heats, the time for the first two heats 
being 7 minutes, S2 seconds and 8 minutes, 1 second. 

It may be interesting to compare Ariel's record with 
that of other winners on the early turf in England and 
America. Rockingham, who, up to that time, stood at 
the head of the list of English winners, was a winner 
thirty-three times; Pot-8-os, thirty-one; Gimcrack, 
twenty-eight out of thirty-seven races; Wood- 
pecker, twenty-eight; imported Buzzard, twenty-eight; 
Eleanor, twenty-eight out of forty-eight; Peggy, 
twenty-two out of thirty-five; Dick Andrews, twenty 
out of twenty-seven; Lady Lightfoot, thirty or more; 
Polly Perkins, twenty-three out of thirty; Sally Hope, 
twenty-two out of twenty-seven, and others lower 
down on the list. 

Another famous daughter of American Eclipse was 
Black Maria, who had a long and brilliant career. Bred 
by Mr. Charles H. Hall, of Harlem, N. Y., she was 
foaled in June, 1826. At the age of seventeen months 
she became the property of Mr. John C. Stevens, who 
retained possession of her many years. Through her 
sire she had in her veins the best equine blood of her gen- 
eration. Her dam was Lady Lightfoot by Sir Archy, her 
grandam Black Maria by imported Shark, her great- 
grandam, a celebrated race mare, by imported Clock- 
fast, a half brother to Medley by Gimcrack, and her 
great-great-grandam Burwell's Maria by Regulus. Lady 
Lightfoot was one of the most distinguished racers of her 
day and never was beaten but once, except in her old 
age. She was bred by Colonel John Tayloe, of Virginia, 
and was afterward the property of Major William Jones, 
of Oyster Bay, L. 1., and Dr. Alexander Hosock, of New 
York. Black Maria's grandam, after whom she was 



named, was originally known as Selden's Maria. She 
had great speed and endurance and ran to her fourteenth 
year. She was owned by Colonel John Tayloe, of Vir- 
ginia, General Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, and 
Colonel W. AUston, of South Carolina. At fourteen 
years of age she again became the property ot Colonel 
Tayloe, who gave $2,500 for her, the highest price ever 
paid for a brood mare up to that time and for many 
years after. 

Black Maria was a superb looking horse, glossy black in 
color, as her name indicated, without a single white mark. 
She stood fifteen hands, three inches high. She was 
first brought to the track in 1829 in a match for $3,000 a 
side, two-mile heats, against Colonel William R. John- 
son's Brilliant, by Sir Archy out of Bet Bounce. She 
won easily in two straight heats, the first in 4 minutes, 
I second, and the second in 3 minutes, 58 seconds. On 
the same course, the Long Island Union, five days later, 
October 8, she won the Jockey Club Purse in two straight 
three-mile heats, defeating Lady Flirt by Hickory and 
Sir Charles by Duroc. Her career from this time on was 
one of almost uninterrupted success, she being only 
occasionally defeated. In May. 1831, on the Union 
Course, she ran second to Bonnets O'BIue by Sir 
Charles, but the same year carried off the Jockey Club 
Purse at Poughkeepsie, defeating Mark Richards and 
Splendid. Her first great triumph was the winning of 
the Post Stakes for $4,000 on the Central Course in 
Baltimore in October, 1831. Her contestants on this 
occasion were Collier by Sir Charles, Virginia Taylor by 
Sir Archy, James Cropper by Sir Charles, Busiris by 
Eclipse and Eliza Reilly by Sir Archy. She won the 
second and third heats, having run fifth in the 
first heat; the time was 8 minutes, 3 seconds, 8 min- 
utes, 10 seconds, and 8 minutes, 3 seconds. Three 
days after this race she was defeated in a contest for the 
Jockey Club Purse on the same course by Colonel Will- 
iam R. Johnson's Trifie by Sir Charles. 

The following year she met Trifie again in October on 
the Union Course, Long Island, in one of the many 
remarkable races of that period, when she won the first 
and fifth heats, her time being 8 minutes, 6 seconds, 
and 8 minutes, 47 seconds, the second being a dead 
heat with Trifie at 7 minutes, 55 seconds. Her last pub- 
lic performance was in May, 1835, for the Jockey Club 
Purse, on the Union Course, four-mile heats, when she 
was defeated by Henry Archy by Henry, Commodore R. 
F. Stockton's Monmouth by Richards being second in 
the running. During her career Black Maria started 
twenty-five times and won thirteen races, eleven of 
them being Jockey Club races at three and four-mile 
heats. Her total winnings were $14,900, which was a 
big sum of money for those days, when the purses were 
not as large as they have been since. After 1835, she 



80 



THE AMERICAN TLIRF 



was withdrawn iVoni the tuif ami sent to the stud. In 
the latter days of her lite she was owned by tlie 
Honorable Bailie Peyton, the distinijuished Southern 
turfman. 

Sir Archy, one of the most famous stallions that has 
ever graced the turf and the stud in the United States, 
was foaled in Virginia in the spring of 1805, being bred 
by Colonel Archibald Randolph and Colonel John Tayloe, 
to whom he jointly belonged. He was a horse of rich 
bav color, fully sixteen hands high, and very powerful, 
having no white about him, except on his right hind 
foot, it was said of him that, "upon the whole he had 
more size, power and substance" than were often seen 
in the full bred horse of that day. As a racer he held 
the highest rank. Although he did not appear in 
many races, when he did run he beat all the best horses 
of his day. Among those who bowed to his prowess 
were Wiangler, Tom Tough, Palafox, Minerva, Ratray, 
Gallatin and others. Even after he was withdrawn from 
the turf, his owner, Colonel William R. Johnson, offered 
to run him against any horse in the world in four-mile 
heats for $s,ooo a side, a challenge that met with no 
takers. 

Sir Archy was a son of imported Diomed. who was 
got by Florizel, one of the best sons of old King Herod, 
his dam being by Spectator. Diomed was one of the 
most successful racers on the English turf, and his colts 
were among the greatest racers ever foaled in the 
United States. The dam of Sir Archy was Castianira, 
got by Rockingham out of Tabitha, Rockingham being 
the best son of Highflyer, who was the best son of old 
King Herod. One of the turf writers of the period said 
of Sir Archy that "he may justly be allowed to be one 
of the best bred horses this country or England has 
ever produced. He was not only a distinguished racer, 
but as a stallion he stands upon higher ground than any 
other horse that has covered in America and may rank 
with the best stallions in England." He became the 
founder of a family and was so much appreciated in 
his native State that nearly all Virginia bred horses of 
the preceding generations traced their pedigrees back to 
him. .Among his get were such horses as Sir Henry, Flir- 
tilla, Timoleon (a sire of great merit). Reality, Sir Will- 
iam, Bertrand, Roanoke, Johanna, Lady Lightfoot, Lady 
Burton and others. The celebrated statesman, John 
Randolph, owned at one time no less than four of his 
colts. Among those in whose veins his blood afterward 
flowed were some of the foremost animals on the Amer- 
ican turf, including Boston, Fashion, Wagner, Gray 
Eagle, Post Boy, Mingo, Lady Clifton, Fanny, Sarah 
Washington and Gray Medoc, and a long list of othe; .-, in- 
cluding even the great Lexington. Probably no other horse 
foaled and bred in this country ever made a more dis- 
tinct, more valuable, or more lasting impress upon the 



thoi'OLighbi'ed on this side of the Atlantic than did this 
famous stallion. 

No descendant of Sir Archy won more enduring fame 
than Boston, who was born at the establishment of John 
Wickham, near Richmond, Va., in 1833, the son of 
Timoleon and the grandson of Sir Archy, his dam being 
a sister to Tuckahoe. The richest of thoroughbred blood 
(lowed in his veins, among his ancestors on the side of 
his sire being Diomed, Eclipse, Snap, Regulus, Fear- 
nought, Jolly Roger, the Darley Arabian, Place's Turk 
and several of the royal mares of Charles II. He was a 
magnificent chestnut, with a white stripe in his face and 
two white feet behind, a trifle above 15^^ hands high, 
not handsome, but with plenty of strength and go in 
him. The name Boston was bestowed upon him, not 
as a compliment to the Puritan capital of Massachusetts, 
but from the popular game of cards called by that name; 
there was a tradition to the effect that, as a colt, he was 
won as a prize at a game of Boston. He first appeared 
upon the turf in Virginia, in 1856, in a sweepstakes, 
mile heats, and was a lugubrious failure, bolting in the 
first heat when running ahead of the field. A few 
months later, in the fall of the same year, he retrieved 
himself, winning first a two-mile heat race and after- 
ward a three-mile heat race, beating, in the former, 
Marv Archy, Juliana and other horses, and in the latter 
Betsv Mingo, Nick Biddle, Bayard and others. From 
that time forward he was uniformly successful and rap- 
idly attained to first rank as a great racer. 

In 1837. he ran four races, each in three-mile heats, 
coming in at the head of the field on every occasion. In 
1S38, he was entered in eleven races, winning nine 
Jockey Club purses, eight of which were four-mile heats 
and the other a three-mile heat, and being paid out of 
the purse not to start in the remaining two events. On 
the Union Course, in June of this year, he ran three miles 
in s minutes, ^6^2 seconds. In 1839, he lost a match 
race to Portsmouth, two-mile heats, in April, and then 
won eight other events, all but one of which were four- 
mile heats, defeating such horses as Queen. Omega, 
Tom Walker and Decatur. His record for 1840 was six 
races won, all but one of which were four-mile heats. 
From a match with Gano in Augusta, Ga., in December 
of this year, he carried off a purse of $10,000. During 
the spring of 1841 he was in the stud, but in the autumn 
won four four-mile heats and then lost one four-mile 
heat, being distanced by John Blount and Fashion in 7 
minutes, 42 seconds. His record for the six years was 
thirty-eight races, of which he won thirty-five, twenty- 
six of them being at foui-mile heats and nine at three- 
mile heats. His total winnings aiiKumted to nearly 
$so,ooo. His great race with Fashion, in 1842, when 
he was defeated, in two straight heats, for a purse of 
$20,oooaside, is described in anotherchapter of this volume. 



81 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



When he retired to the stud, ;it the nge of ten years, 
after having run forty-live races, thirty of which were in 
four-mile heats, he was in as perfect physical condition 
as when he was a two-year old. His defeat by Fashion 
was amply atoned for and memories of it substantially 
obliterated by his subsequent performance in the stud, 
where his career was brilliant, even though short. In this 
capacity he began, in his native Virginia, in 1843, but was 
subsequently transferred to Kentucky in 1846, passing 
into the hands of that remarkable breeder, Colonel E. M. 
Blackburn, of Woodford County, who, with Mr. John M. 
Clay, son of the great commoner, and Mr. R. A. Alex- 
ander, of Woodburn Farm, first gave Americans an idea 
of that scale of expenditure on which breeding must be 
conducted in order to be successful. Having contracted 
a severe cold he died in 1849, but left a strong imprint 
upon the American turf in the shape of a remarkable 
array of sons and daughters, many of whom achieved 
great distinction. Judged by his blood, his form, his 
deeds and his produce, he has been pronounced, by 
many authorities, the greatest race horse ever born on 
American soil. Two of his descendants, Lexington and 
Lecomte, so far overshadowed all others of the family 
that it is hardly necessary to speak of them in the same 
connection. 

Imported Glencoe, bred by the Earl of Jersey, by Sultan 
out of Trampoline by Tramp, was one of the celebrated 
thoroughbreds before the middle of this century. He 
was foaled in 1831 and had already achieved f.une. both 
on the turf and in the stud, before he came to the United 
States. He was the winner of the Two Thousand 
Guineas Stake and one of his daughters was Pocahontas, 
the dam of Stockwell, who became the sire of the most 
successful racers of the day and the ancestor of probably 
the most reliable strain of winners that the old country 
turf possessed down to recent times. Although thought 
well of in his native land, Glencoe was not so highly 
valued as some of his rivals, but it has been well said of 
him that "looking back at the influence left by him in 
England in his one stud season there, and at the results 
of his impress here, it is doubtful whether for permanent 
improvement of racing stock he was not a better horse 
than was left in England when he came away." Glencoe 
was imported by Mr. James Jackson, of Alabama, and 
like so many of the best horses of that period, passed 
into the hands of the Kentucky breeder, Mr. A. K. Rich- 
ards, in whose possession he was when he died in 1858. 
He was a powerful, beautiful chestnut, with a large star 
on the forehead, and hind legs white half way up to the 
hocks, and stood 16 hands high. His work in the stud 
in this country was of a phenomenal character and he 
supplied as strong and individual an element to the 
American thoroughbred as any other stallion, except 
perhaps Diomed. He sired a multitude of famous racers, 



while the mares of his get proved exceptionly produc- 
tive, especially when bred to the distinctively American 
horse, Lexington, representing the line of old Sir Archy 
and the first Derby winner, imported Diomed. The 
best sons ot Glencoe were Vandal, Congaree, Frankfort, 
Rigadoon, Pryor and Thornhill, and among his most 
I'amous descendants were Lecomte, Starke. Prioress, 
Brown Dick, Lodi, Fleetwing, Idlewild, Asteroid, Ken- 
tucky and Norfolk. 

Fashion, who carried the colors of the North in the 
famous match with Boston in 1842, was foaled in 1837 
at Madison, Morris County, N. J., in the establishment 
of Mr. William H. Gibbons. She was noted not only 
for remarkable performances on the turf, but for a beauty 
that distinguished her above most horses of the day and 
that bore abundant testimony to her pure and lofty 
descent. She was a rich, satin-coated chestnut, 15}^ 
hands high, and strong and graceful in build. With a 
star on her forehead and a ring of white on the left hind 
foot, her right quarter was marked with three dark spots 
such as had marked Plenipo and others. She was got 
by imported Trustee, out of the celebrated Bonnets O'Blue, 
who was by Sir Charles and Reality, the two latter being 
half brother and sister by Sir Archy. On the side of both 
sire and dam Fashion was thus descended from the most 
distinguished racing families that had figured on the 
American turf since the beginning of its history. Reality 
was declared by Colonel William R. Johnson to be "the 
very best race horse I ever saw." Her pedigree through 
her dam, a daughter of Medley, extended back through 
Centinel, Janus, Monkey, Silver Eye and Spanker, to an 
imported Spanish mare, and among her other ancestors 
on this side were the Darley Arabian. Bartlett's Childers 
mare. Place's White Turk, Snap, Cade and Partner. 

Trustee, the sire of Fashion, was a distinguished race 
horse in England, where, at three years old, he was sold 
for 2,000 guineas to the Duke of Cleveland, after having 
run third in the race for the Derby of one hundred and 
one subscribers. He was foaled in 1829 by Catton, out 
of Emma by Whisker, and the blood of Hermes, Pipator, 
Sir Peter, Penelope by Trumpatorand Prunella by High- 
flyer flowed in his veins. His brother, Mundig, won 
the Derby of 183s against a field of one hundred and 
twenty-eight subscribers. Through the dam of her 
giandsire. Sir Charles, Fashion was also descended from 
Citizen, Pacolet, Regulus. Crab, Cade, Makeless. Snake, 
Shark, Fearnought and others. Her pedigree through 
Sir Archy is too well known to have more than inere 
attention called to it here. Coming upon the turf in 
1840, Fashion easily won a two-mile heat sweepstakes 
at Camden, N. J., and a similar race at Trenton, N. J., 
both in October of that year. In 1841, she won four out 
of the five races in which she started, and after her famous 
race with Boston in 1842, entered upon a long and 



82 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



biilli.int c;ii'eer. She w;is trained tor all hcrcaiU oiigagc- 
iiK'iits bv Samuel l.aird, aiul was ridden by his son, 
Joseph Laird, who was then considered the best jockey 
of tile Nortii. She died in 1861. 

When Mr. Richard Ten Broeck was in Hngiand. 
engaged in his campaign against the champions of the 
Hngiish turf in 1856, and several years after, he made 
many purchases of thoroughbreds from the Hngiish 
stables. Prominent among his acquisitions was the bay 
colt Phaeton by King Tom out of Merry Wave by Storm, 
the latter being a son of Touchstone and Ghuznee. 
Phaeton was a handsome horse, 16 hands high, with a 
capital constitution, good temper and well bred. He 
never, however, attained to prominence as a perfoimer 
on the turf, his achievements there not following out the 
promise of his blood and his youthful form. His running 
was confined to two events, once when he was a two- 
year old and again in his three-year old form, and he 
was beaten both times. It was believed, however, that 
with the blood ot King Tom, Touchstone and others in 
his veins, he should be of great value in transmitting the 
qualities of his distinguished ancestors through the stud, 
and with this purpose in view, Mr. Ten Broeck brought 
him to the United States upon his return to this country, 
and he made two seasons upon the Ten Broeck farm 
near Louisville, Ky., in 1860-70. 

His success was not great at the outset, however, and 
he was shortly transferred to the stud of Major B. G. 
Thomas, near Le.xington. During the short time that he 
was in the stud thereafter he got several fine race horses, 
proving his exceptional value as a stallion and the emi- 
nent worth of the family whose traits he transmitted to 
his offspring. In the generation following his service 
his stock generally proved its surpassing excellence and 
became as popular as any on the turf of that period. 
Besides Ten Broeck, others of his sons and daughters 
attained to prominence, among them being St. Martin, 
from Tokay by Yorkshire; The Nipper, from Annette by 
Lexington; Aramis, from Nellie Gray by Lexington; 
Patriot, from Springbrook; King Alfonso, from Capitola 
by Vandal; King Pharao, from a Knight of St. George 
mare; and Phoebe Mayflower, from Cicely Jopson. 

Ten Broeck, one of the most famous horses that ever 
graced the American turf was Phaeton's most distin- 
guished son. He was foaled in 1872 out of Fanny 
Holton by Lexington, his dam being also the dam of 
the famous Lyttleton. His second dam was Nantura by 
Browner's Eclipse, who was also Longfellow's dam. 
His third dam was Inez by Bertrand, and his maternal 
lineage ran farther back to Wormsley's King Herod, 
Morton's imported Traveller and imported Childers. 
Bred and raised by Mr. John Harper, Ten Broeck as a colt 
was unpromising and gave little indication of the great 
future before him. When he was two years old 



he ran a race in Lexington and was placed third to 
Bill Bruce and Bob Woolley. At three years old he 
won the Phirnix Hotel Stakes in Lexington, but was 
beaten for the Citizens' Stakes by Chesapeake and the 
same year for the Kentucky Derby was unplaced. In 
the autumn he was unsuccessful in the Three Year Old 
Sweepstakes, but three days later won another sweep- 
stakes for three-year olds, going one mile and five fur- 
longs in 2 minutes, 4<)}{ seconds. After being defeated 
for the Kentucky St. Leger by King Alfonso he won 
the Post Stakes at Louisville, three miles in 5 minutes, 
32 seconds; the Merchants' Stakes at Nashville in two 
straight heats — 3 minutes, 36>4 seconds, and 3 minutes, 
40 /'4! seconds; and the Maxwell House Stakes, mile 
heats, in i minute, 44^ seconds, and i minute, 4s sec- 
onds. As a three-year old he started nine times and 
won five races. 

Beginning with his four-year old foi'm, in 187(1, he 
had thenceforth a record of triumphant success. In 
May, he won three races, including the Louisville 
Cup and the Gait House Stakes, and the next autumn 
won two races at Lexington and at Louisville, a purse for 
two miles and five furlongs, the time being 4 minutes 
and S8J2 seconds, establishing the record for that dis- 
tance. For the Post Stakes he ran three miles in =, min- 
utes, 26/4 seconds, the fastest time on record, and in 
September, ran four miles against time, covering the 
course in 7 minutes, 15^ seconds, lowering the 
record, which had stood up to that time at 7 
minutes, 19,-2 seconds. During the year he won 
seven out of the eight races in which he started, 
and in 1877 was successful in nine out of the ten events 
in which he was engaged. His greatest performances in 
1877 were reducing the one mile record from i minute, 
41 ''4 seconds to 1 minute, 39^ seconds and the two 
mile record from ^ minutes, }2}4 seconds to -5 minutes 
27 '2 seconds. At Baltimore, the same season, he met 
Parole and Tom Ochiltree for the Grand Sweepstakes at 
two miles and a half, and was beaten by Parole. He 
won, however, the Bowie Stakes, four mile heats, at the 
same meeting. On July 4, 1878, occurred his sensationa\ 
race with the California mare, Molly McCarthy, in which 
he distanced his rival in the first heat. This ended his 
turf career, and he was retired to the stud, having to his 
credit the fastest time on record at one mile, one mile 
and five furlongs, two miles and five furlongs, three 
miles and four miles. During his life upon the turf he 
ran thirty races, of which he won twenty-three, having 
an aggregate value of .$20, so^. By many old turfites he 
was regarded by all odds the greatest racer of his day 
and it was generally believed that, had he been carefully 
handled, he never could have been beaten after he had 
entered the three-year old class, and that he might have 
been much longer retained in active work. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Bred by General Thomas A. Wells, of Louisiana, 
Lecomte was a close rival ofhis famous brother, Lexing- 
ton, in his phenomenal achievements on the turf, and 
only stood second to him in the abiding regard of the 
public. He was foaled in iS=,o. his sire being Boston 
and his dam Reel, by imported Glencoe. His grandam 
was Gallopade, by Catton, his great-grandam, Camillina, 
by Camillus, and his great-great-grandam a mare by 
Smolensko. His pedigree went back to Turk, Starling, 
Greyhound, the Curwen Bay Barb and the Lister Turk, 
and through Catton, the sire of his grandam, he traced 
to Florizel, Engineer, Eclipse and other great champions. 
He was a half brother of Prioress, who was got by 
Sovereign out of Reel. Lecomte was a rich chestnut, 
with white on one hind leg, and stood 15 hands, 3 
inches high. He had a stride of about twenty-three feet, 
an iron constitution and a speed and bottom equal to the 
best of his day. 

Starting as a two-year old, in April. 1853, he defeated 
Voucher, Argent and others in a sweepstake, mile heats, 
in I minute, 48 >^ seconds and i minute, 4S,!'2 seconds. 
The same year, in the autumn, he won the three-year 
old sweepstakes upon the Pharsalia Course in Natchez, 
Miss., defeating in two sti'aight two-mile heats Atala, 
by Ruffin, and Conrad the Corsair, by Voucher, the 
time being 5 minutes, 4^}i seconds and 3 minutes, 
46^ seconds. In 1S54, he ran three races, in January, 
in each of which he was successful. In a sweepstakes 
on the Metairie Course, New Orleans, mile heats, he 
made a record of i minute, 47 seconds in each of two 
straight heats. Six days later he won the Jockey Club 
Purse on the same course, in two straight heats, in ^ 
minutes, S4>^ seconds and 5 minutes, ^2^2 seconds, 
defeating Mary Taylor and Medina, both by imported 
Sovereign, and also Joe Blackburn, by imported Glencoe. 
The following week he defeated a Gallatin colt in a purse 
for all ages, two mile heats, in 3 minutes, 44^ seconds, 
and 3 minutes, 35 seconds. In April of the same year 
he lost the Great State Post Stakes, four mile heats, to 
his half brother Lexington, but seven days later 
turned the tables on Lexington and startled the sporting 
world by his two straight four-mile heats in 7 minutes, 
26 seconds, and 7 minutes, 38^:5; seconds. Up to this 
time the record for four-mile heats had been that of 
Fashion, 7 minutes, ^2^2 seconds, which was now 
beaten in this first heat by 6)4 seconds. 

In the autumn of the same year he won the Associa- 
tion Purse, two mile heats on the Pharsalia Course, de- 
feating Joe Blackburn in 3 minutes, 47^ seconds, and 3 
minutes, 46)4 seconds for two straight heats. To close 
the year he carried off the Jockey Club Purse on the 
Metairie Course, two mile heats, defeating Joe Black- 
burn and Gallatina by Gallatin, his time being 3 min- 
utes, 56 seconds, and 3 minutes, <y2}4 seconds. Frank 



Forester says of Lecomte's achievements in this year 
that; " no more extraordinary campaign, in point of 
time, had ever been made in the United States, if else- 
where, and at its termination he had a right to repose 
on his laurels with the renown that his friends chal- 
lenged for him, as of right, of being the fastest four- 
miler in the world." The following year he was 
defeated by Lexington upon the Metairie Course, being 
withdrawn after the first heat. The same year he won 
a four mile race at Natchez, beating Arrow in two 
straight heats in 7 minutes, 55^^ seconds, and 7 min- 
utes. '^G^i seconds, but a few weeks later was defeated 
by Arrow in a three-mile heat contest. He was beaten 
by Pryor twice and was then purchased by Mr. Richard 
Ten Broeck, who added him to the string which he 
took to England in 1836. In England he started only 
once, running third to the winner of the Warwick 
Cup, and suddenly ended his career on the turf by dying 
from an influenza, which also carried off his stable com- 
panion and rival, Pryor. 

An imported stallion that had more renown after his 
death than during his life was Bonnie Scotland, who 
was foaled in i8s3 and bred by Mr. William I'Anson. 
He was a rich bay with black points and a star, and 
stood a trifle over 16 hands high, a horse of great 
strength and good constitution. His dam, Qiieen Mary, 
stepped on his off front pastern when he was only a 
few weeks old and so seriously injured him that it 
was feared he was ruined; in fact, his lame leg oper- 
ated to his disadvantage throughout life, preventing him 
from achieving the success on the turf to which his great 
talents Lindoubtedly entitled him. and also, to a consid- 
erable extent, prejudicing breeders against him when he 
was placed in the stud. The fact that he achieved phe- 
nomenal success, even under these discouraging circum- 
stances, is the strongest proof of his superiority. In 
1836, he ran four races only, winning two of them, the 
Liverpool St. Leger and the Doncaster Stakes. At Don- 
caster, for the St. Leger, he ran a dead heat with Artil- 
lery for second place to Warlock, the winner. After 
that, his lameness returning, he was brought to the 
United States and sold to go into the stud, first standing 
in Ohio and then in Kentucky. He met with compara- 
tively little favor until General W. G. Harding bought 
him to take the place of Vandal at Belle Meade. His ac- 
complishments there after he was nineteen years old, 
give him title to a high position as a sire. Among his 
most famous sons and daughters were Lobelia, Bramble, 
Bushwhacker, Capitola, Quartermaster, Bathgate, Luke 
Blackburn, Brooklyn, Joe Howell. Regulator and Baltic. 
His get gave good report of themselves as they 
began to come upon the turf In 187s, they were win- 
ners of $3,990, from which point they rapidly advanced 
until in 1878 they were winners of $49,552, and in 1880 



84 



TUR AMERICAN TURF 



winners of $137, loo, carrying off about $4t,ooo more 
mont-'v than the produce of any American sire before 
tJKit time. After death the skeleton of Bonnie Scot- 
land was presented to the Vanderbilt University at 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Probably no American horse ever had greater fame in 
his day, or occupies a higher position in the history of 
the American turf than Lexington, that greatest son of 
Boston. Not only was he phenomenally successful in 
defeating all the great champions of his time, and in 
lowering records of the turf that hitherto had been con- 
sidered almost unapproachable, but his get for fully a 
third of a century constituted the very elite of the turf 
It has only been within a comparatively recent period 
that his supremacy, as shown through his progeny, has 
been shared by some of the more modeiii importations 
from England and Australia. His will always be a 
grand, if not the grandest figure shining forth from the 
pages of American turf history. In a very large measure 
the career of the American thoroughbred, since his time, 
has been a history of his family in its various branches. 
By far the majority of the horses that upheld the honor 
of American racing in the period following the close of 
the Civil War, when the turf was reconstituted and put 
upon an entirely new footing, were descended from 
him. 

Lexington's sire, Boston, was by Timoleon, by Sir 
Archy. by English Diomed. As is well known, he had 
in him the bluest of English thoroughbred blood, in the 
line of his pedigree being such great horses as Hightlyer, 
Elorizel, Fearnought, Herod, the Godolphin Arabian, the 
Darley Arabian, Byerly Turk, Flying Childers, and others 
of the most celebrated champions of the English turf of 
the eighteenth century and before. The dam of Lexing- 
ton was Alice Carneal, who never attained to high dis- 
tinction, save as the dam of this great horse. She was 
foaled in Kentucky in 1836, and, although in one four- 
mile race she ran second to Miss Foote in 7 minutes, 42 
seconds, it does not appear that she ever won a race. 
The sire of Alice Carneal was imported Sarpedon by 
Emilius out of Icaria by The Flyer. Among the ancest- 
ors of Sarpedon was Mambrino, who was got by Engin- 
eer, out of a dam by Cade. The grandam of Lexington 
was Rowena by Sumpter, who was by Sir Archy, out 
of a dam by Robin Redbreast, who was by Sir Peter 
Teazle out of Wren. Tracing the pedigree of Lexington 
further, we find such cracks as Saltram, Regulus, Gray 
Diomed, Medley, Wild Air, Gimcrack, Bartlett's Chil- 
ders, Silvertail, Ariel, Morton's Traveller and Selima. 

As handsome a horse as appeared on the turf in his 
day, Lexington was a blood bay, about is hands, 
3 inches high, with fore and hind feet and pasterns 
an.d a small portion of his hind legs above pasterns 
white. He had a distinguished air, that gave full evi- 



dence of his lofty breeding, and was remarkable for his 
good temper. In action he was bold, free and full of 
power, and when in good form was exceptionally dis- 
tinguished for his grandeur and beauty. He was first 
brought out in May, 1853, under the name of Darley, 
but receiving the name of Lexington the same year, 
appeared in December, 1853, in his three-year old form 
in three-mile heats on the Metairie Course, New Orleans, 
when he defeated Sally Waters by imported Glencoe, 
distancing her in the second heat, his time being 6 min- 
utes, 2}],'2 seconds, and 6 minutes, 24 J4 seconds, over a 
track that was very heavy. From that time on he had 
an extraordinary career, which, in every respect, has 
been unequaled in the history of American turf. 

In 1854, after paying forfeit in a three-year old stake, 
two-mile heats, on the Metairie Course, he won the 
Great Stake Post Stake in two straight four-mile heats, 
beating his half biothers, Lecomte and Arrow, both by 
Boston, and also Highlander, by imported Glencoe. The 
course was heavy and the time slow, being 8 minutes, 
8:'4 seconds and 8 minutes, 4 seconds. On the Sth of 
April he was defeated by Lecomte for the Jockey (>lub 
Purse, upon the same course, in a race that was the fast- 
est that, at that time, had ever been run. As a result of 
this race the rivalry between Lexington and Lecomte was 
raised to a higher pitch than ever before, and there fol- 
lowed first that great match against time in which Lex- 
ington ran four miles in 7 minutes, i()-/i seconds, and 
then the last in the trio of these sensational events when 
the two great sons of Boston met again on the Metairie 
Course and Lexington defeated Lecomte in a single four- 
mile heat in 7 minutes, 23^' seconds. 

This last race with Lecomte ended the short but 
brilliant career of Lexington on the turf. He started in 
all in seven races, winning six of them and earning 
$56,000. In 1856, Mr. R. A. Alexander, of Woodburn, 
Woodford County, Ky., while in England, purchased 
him from Mr. Ten Broeck. paying for him §15,000. The 
noble animal was taken to Woodburn, where he re- 
mained at service until his death, at an advanced age. in 
1875. Although stricken with blindness soon after his 
retirement, he continued to be an object of affectionate 
interest to all lovers of the thoroughbred throughout the 
United States, and pilgrimages from all parts of the country 
were made to see hmi in his old age. When he died 
he was in a stable near the house occupied by his groom, 
Henry Overton, and was buried not far away. His 
owner had an appropriate marble shaft placed at the 
head of the grave, on which is recorded brief mention of 
his victories. Lexington proved himself to be the great- 
est of modern American sires; in one year alone he sired 
three great horses, Norfolk, Asteroid and Kentucky. 
For Asteroid $50,000 were refused, Kentucky sold 
at one time for $40,000, and Norfolk, when in his 

85 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



r;icing prime, could not be bought for less than the latter 
amount. 

Wagner, the victor over Grey Eagle in the Great Inter- 
state race at Louisville, Ky., in 1839, was a son of Sir 
Charles, one of the most renowned sires in America. 
Sir Charles was by Sir Archy out of a dam by imported 
Citizen. There is no doubt that Citizen was one of the 
best race horses ever imported, for he ran until he was 
fourteen years old, carrying heavy weights, most of his 
races being at four-mile heats. Wagner had three 
crosses of Citizen's blood coursing through his veins, 
and two crosses from the rich stream of Sir Archy. At 
one time Sir Charles, his sire, had more four-mile horses 
on the turf than any other stallion in America. Among 
the most celebrated of his get were Wagner, Andrew 
and Trifle. The grandam of Wagner was by Commuta- 
tion, his great-grandam by Daredevil, his great-great- 
grandam by imported Shark and his great-great-great- 
grandam by imported Fearnought out of Maria West by 
Marion, who was by Sir Archy, out of a dam by 
Citizen, whose dam was Ella Crump by Citizen. 

Foaled in 1834, he was regarded by many as at least 
the equal of any other horse in America of his day, not 
even excepting Boston. He was a beautiful chestnut, 
is'-' hands high, with a white blaze on his face and two 
white hind feet. Early in his career he showed himself 
possessed of speed, coui'age and bottom and was a dis- 
tinguished winner. When he was three years old, just 
after he had been defeated in a mile heat race, he was 
bought by Colonel John Campbell, of Baltimore, who 
paid $s,ooo for him, an enormous price at that time for 
a colt that had never won a race. Receiving the name 
Wagner, he was taken to Mobile. He ran the two-mile 
sweepstakes for three-year olds, beating Zerlina, Paul 
Jones and others and the same week on the same course, 
won a four mile purse. Next in New Orleans he won 
the two-mile sweepstakes and the four-mile purse and 
the following week walked over the Metairie Course for 
a four-mile purse. In fact, he won everything that was 
hung up all over the Southwest. In 1839, he defeated 
the champion of Kentucky, Grey Eagle, twice in one 
week. Subsequently run when he was in wretched 
condition he was easily beaten and then was withdrawn 
from the turf and placed in the stud. His owner, it is 
said, realized through him in purses, stakes and outside 
betting over $100,000. In the stud he proved himself 
very successful in getting good race horses. Among 
the best of his get were Voucher, Gallatin, Charley Ball, 
Dearmond, Cordelia Reed, winner of a twenty-mile 
race; Lawson, l.aura Spillman, Jack Gamble, Tangent, 
Nanny Rhodes, the dam of Nicholas I. ; and many others. 
What is even more worthy of notice, all of his colts that 
went into the stud produced winners. Two of the very 
best get of the famous import\;d Sovereign were also of 



the Wagner family, Childe Harold and Charleston, the 
former out of Maria West, the dam of Wagner, and the 
other out of a granddaughter of the same mare. In his 
later years Wagner was owned by Mr. John M. Clay, 
who had him in the stud at his historic place near Ash- 
land, Ky. 

Grey Eagle, upon whom the hopes of Kentucky 
rested in the great race with Wagner just referred to, 
and in another chapter fully described, was appropriately 
named from his color, which was a fine silvery grey. 
He was a son of Woodpecker, who was by imported 
Dragon. His dam waslrby's Daredevil mare, his grandam 
by Fearnought. Among his ancestors were Wild Med- 
ley, Old Medley, imported Granby and imported Janus. 
He was a horse of almost perfect symmetry, nearly 16 
hands high, with a beautiful flowing tail and mane. In 
his three-year old form he won two races of two-mile 
heats, the first in 3 minutes, 41 seconds and 3 minutes, 
43 seconds, and the other in 3 minutes, 48 seconds and 
} minutes, 44 seconds. Before his great races with 
Wagner, in the second of which he broke down, he 
was believed to be equal to anything in America, both 
for bottom and speed. 

A horse that in the fifties was held to be a fair rival of 
Lecomte and Lexington was Arrow. He was a stable 
companion of Lexington and in the challenge issued for 
the latter in the great match against Lecomte's time of 
7 minutes and 26 seconds in 18S5, was named to start 
in place of Lexington, in case that horse should be amiss 
on the day of the trial. Such was the confidence that 
Mr. Ten Broeck had in him. Arrow was another son of 
Boston, got in i8so out of Jeanneton, being, therefore, a 
half brother of Lecomte and Lexington. Jeanneton was 
by imported Leviathan. The grand dam of Arrow was 
by Stockholder, who was by Sir Archy, out of imported 
Citizen. Stockholder traced back to Old Janus, Old 
Fearnought, Apollo, Silver-eye and Jolly Roger. The 
Boston and Sir Archy pedigrees have been given so fre- 
quently in these pages that they need here only be 
referred to. Citizen was by Pacolet, out of Princess, 
and traced to Young Cade, Crab and otheis. In the 
pedigree of Arrow were also included such noted horses 
as Regulus. Liberty, Imported Cassandra and the Godol- 
phin Arabian. 

When Arrow first appeared on the turf in the fall of 
1852, he signalized his debut by taking a two-year old 
sweepstakes at mile heats, beating a Boston and a Bel- 
shazzer filly in i minute, si^^. seconds and i minute, 30 
seconds. During 185^, he won thiee races out of the 
four in which he started, twice at mile heats and once at 
three-mile heats. On the Metairie Course in January, he 
won mile heats, the best three out of five, the time of 
the five heats that were run being i minute, 55 seconds, 
1 minute, =js seconds, i minute, ^^^4 seconds, i minute, 



S6 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



^7!^ seconds and i ininute, 77^2 seconds. On the 
same couise in April, he won three straight mile heats in 
I minute, 52>2 seconds, i minute, 51 X seconds and i 
minute, si-^-i seconds, beating Hilariot by Glencoe and 
Pickaway by Boston. On the Pharsalia Course at Nat- 
chez, he won the Association Purse for all ages, three- 
mile heats, beating Mary TayK)r by Sovereign, Wade 
Hampton by Boston and Hugh French by Glencoe, in 
two straight heats, the time being s minutes, yiyi sec- 
onds and s minutes, 53,'^ seconds. He came out in his 
four-year old shape in January, i8s4, on the Metairie 
Course in a sweepstakes for all ages, a single four-mile, 
beating Little Flea and White Eagle, both of whom were 
by Grey Eagle, his time being 7 minutes, ^9 seconds. 
For the Jockey Club Purse, three-mile heats, over the 
same course, he ran second to Blonde bv Glencoe out of 
Cherry Elliot by Wagner. Running in the Great State 
Post Stakes in April of the same year, he met Lexington, 
Lecomte, and Highlander in a four-mile heat race and 
was distanced in the first heat. 

In 185s, after he was used to put Le.xinglon to speed 
in the match against Lecomte's time, he ran for the 
Jockey Club Purse over the Metairie Course in April, 
when he was beaten by Brown Dick, the time of the 
winner in the two heats being s minutes, 30^4 seconds 
and s minutes, 28 seconds. Arrow gained laurels, even 
though he was defeated, being not more than half a sec- 
ond behind in the second heat. He next lost four-mile 
heats to Lecomte in 7 minutes, 55'^ seconds and 7 min- 
utes, 'y6i4 seconds, but afterward, however, achieved 
his greatest glory by defeating Lecomte himself for the 
Jockey Club Purse at three-mile heats, Lecomte taking 
the first heat in 6 minutes and Arrow the second and 
third heats in s minutes, sg seconds and 6 minutes, ? 
seconds. Another one of his great victories was his 
defeat of Little Flea in the Jockey Club Purse of three 
mile heats on the Metairie Course. Little Flea was by 
Grey Eagle, out of an imported dam by Actacon. The 
first heat was won in s minutes, }3li seconds by Little 
Flea, the second and third heats being carried of by 
Arrow in ^ minutes, 36 seconds and s minutes, 43>j 
seconds, the time being the best on record at three mile 
heats. 

One of the most famous stallions of Westchester 
County, N. Y., in the fifties was imported Mango, 
who belonged to Messrs. J. & A. Bathgate, of Mor- 
risania. He stood several seasons at the Bathgate Farm 
and was as highly esteemed as any stallion of that 
period. Bred in 1834, he was imported to the United 
States by Mr. Thomas Betts in 18,7. He was got by 
Emilius out of Mustard by Merlin. His grandam, Morell, 
sister to Truffle, was by Sorcerer. His great-grandam. 
Hornby Lass, was by Buzzard. No better pedigree 
than his existed in the English Stud Book, for he had 



crosses of King Herod, Partner, Bay Bolton, the Darley 
Arabian, the Byerly Turk and Place's White Turk. He 
was brother to Captain Rock, (Curfew, Pickle, Preserve, 
Marmalade and other good English thoroughbreds of the 
early part of the century. 

On the turf he had some important events to his 
credit. He walked over for a sweepstakes at New- 
market, won the Derby at Ascot and the same day won 
a handicap. He was also the victor in a sweepstakes at 
Ascot, beating Ratrap and others. At Stockbridge he 
won a sweepstakes, and at Doncaster won the great St. 
Leger from a full Held. At the first October meeting at 
Newmarket he won the St. Leger and at the second Oc- 
tober meeting at the same place was only beaten by a 
head by Velure for the Gordon Stakes, 2 miles, having 
given Velure fourteen pounds. At the Newmarket 
Craven Meeting he won the Claret Stakes, for which he 
was a favorite, at 5 to 2. He was considered one of the 
best horses of his year and second to none ot the sons of 
Emilius, who was the sire of no less than s2o winners. 
In the stud he was also very successful, nearly all of his 
get becoming winners. He was the sire of Negreta. the 
best horse ever bred in Belgium. For several years after 
i8s2 he was the property of the King of Belgium, who 
paid $21,000 for him. Afterward, in i8s6, he was 
bought back by Colonel Blyth for the Hampton Court 
Stud, and not long after came to this country. In the 
United States he was not less successful than he had 
been abroad and he added a valuable strain of blood to 
the already existing families of American thoroughbreds, 
his crosses with the purely American stock being 
productive of good results. 

No son of Revenue ranked higher than Ducalion. 
He was out of The Qiieen, by imported Priam, a Derby 
winner. His grandam was Delphin. by Whisker, 
winner of the Derby and own brother to Whalebone. 
His great-grandam was My Lady, by Comus, out of The 
Colonel's dam by Delphin, and further back on the 
maternal side he traced to Young Marske, Regulus, Lord 
Morton's Arabian, Bay Bolton, Coneyskins and the 
Byerly Turk. His dam, The Qiieen. was one of the 
most distinguished race mares in the United States, 
at all distances, from one to four-mile heats. She was 
full sister to Monarch, equally distinguished, and both 
were bred at the royal stud at Hampton Court. Her 
grandam. My Lady, was the dam of the distinguished 
English race horse and stallion. Jareed, and also the dam 
of imported Passenger. My Lady's dam was also dam 
of The Colonel, winner of the St. Leger, one of the most 
distinguished racers and stallions in England. On the 
whole, the pedigree of Ducalion was remarkable for its 
richness and ranked among the best to be foimd in the 
English Stud Book. 

Ducalion was a horse of fine proportions, taller than 



87 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



his sire, Revenue, ;md his grandsire Trustee, more than 
two inches taller than imported Medley and those re- 
nowned English stallions, Trumpator and Whalebone, 
and more than five inches taller than the famous four- 
mile horse, Gimcrack. Some brilliant performances on 
the turf were to his credit. In October, 1856, he ran a 
race of two-mile heats over the Fairfield Virginia Course 
in 3 minutes, 52><$ seconds, and 5 minutes, 56 seconds, 
beating a field of four others. In the December follow- 
ing he beat Sally Roper in a match of two-mile heats, in 
} minutes 59^^ seconds, and 4 minutes 4 seconds. His 
best two-mile heat was at Fairfield, Va., in May, 1857, 
3 minutes, so seconds. Over the Newmarket Course, at 
Petersburg, Va., he won the Jockey Club Purse, three- 
mile heats, beating Engineer and Franklin on a heavy 
track, in =, minutes, 57>^ seconds for each of the two 
heats. He stood in the stud of Colonel Nathaniel A. 
Thompson, of Ashland, Va., and was very successful. 

Pryor, who was held to be a worthy representative of 
the American turf, when Mr. Richard Ten Broeck ini- 
tiated his English campaign in 1836, and who was one 
of the principal members of Mr. Ten Broeck's string, 
was a son of imported Glencoe. He was got in 1832, 
out of Gypsey, own sister to Medoc by American 
Eclipse. His grandam was Young Maid of the Oaks by 
Expedition; his great-gi'andam Maid of the Oaks by 
Spread Eagle; his great-great-grandam by Shark; and 
still further back his grandams were by Rockingham, 
True Whig, Gallant, Regulus and Diamond. His great- 
grandsire, Expedition, was by Pegasus, out of Active by 
Woodpecker, and through this line of descent he traced 
to Eclipse, Makeless, Herod, the Lonsdale Arabian, the 
Darley Arabian, the Byerly Turk, Place's White Turk, 
the Godolphin Arabian, and other heroes of the English 
turf. Through Spread Eagle, who was the son of Vol- 
unteer by Highflyer, the blood of Engineer and 
Cade coursed in his veins. Through others of his 
ancestors, his descent was from Marske, Marlborough, 
Partner, Morton's Traveller, Greyhound, White Turk, 
imported Fearnought, Regulus, the Darley Arabian, the 
Godolphin Arabian, Herod, Hercules, Crab, Hautboy 
and others. His pedigree was one of the best of any 
American thoroughbred, being traced in all its different 
hues to English horses of unimpeachable character. 

Curiously enough, little seems to have been known 
about Pryor until he was brought out in his two-year 
old form. His color was a dull chestnut and he was a 
solidly built, compact animal. After he went to Eng- 
land, the tiuestion of his age was raised by some of the 
turf authorities there and a considerable controversy 
ensued, but in the end it was satisfactorily established 
that he was at that time in his fourth year. The posi- 
tion taken by the English turi'men and turf writers in 
regard to this matter occasioned ;i great deal of unfavoi->- 



able comment at that time, as being scarcely sportsman- 
like. In the end. affidavits from the owner, breeder, 
trainers and others, who were familiar with Pryor's 
history, were necessary before the suspicions of the 
English turfmen could be allayed. As a two-year old, 
Pryor made his debut on the Metairie Course at New 
Orleans, when he was entered for the Picayune Stakes, 
mile heats. Upon this occasion he met La Dame 
Blanche by Voucher out of Lady Jane by imported 
Leviathan, and Melody by Voucher out of Music. He 
won the race in the second and third heats, his time 
being i minute, 30 seconds, and i minute, 36/4. seconds, 
the first heat being taken by La Dame Blanche in i min- 
ute, so seconds. 

At the same meeting he ran for a sweepstakes, mile 
heats, against Minnow by Voucher out of Dolphin by 
Leviathan; Bundle and Go, out of a Medoc dam; Mary 
Bertiand by Glencoe and Belshazzar by Pacific out of 
Lauia. The pace of this race was too hot for him, the 
winner. Minnow, making the two final heats out of the 
three in i minute, 46^3 seconds, and i minute, 48>-^ 
seconds. In the autumn of the same year he was again 
defeated by Minnow for the Jockey Club Purse, two- 
mile heats, for three-year olds, the time of the two 
heats being 3 minutes, 43 seconds, and 3 minutes, 36 
seconds. A month later, in December, he ran two-mile 
heats in 4 minutes, 13 seconds, and 4 minutes, 17 
seconds, beating Corinne by imported Glencoe and Red 
Ox by Pat Galway. In the spring races, on the Phar- 
salia Course, in Natchez, in 1853, he was put up against 
Lecomte. Little was expected of him, for his defeats by 
Minnow, in the previous year, had seemed to indicate 
that he was not a horse of superior form. He had 
begun to develop considerable fleetness, but, on the 
whole, was regarded as a rather desperate chance in 
attacking so formidable a rival as the renowned Lecomte, 
with the 7 minutes, 26 seconds, record to his credit. 
There was little betting on the result, and tliat was 
mostly 100 to 20 and 100 to 15 on Lecomte. 

The race was four-mile heats, and the track was 
very heavy. Both horses were in the pink of condition. 
When the first heat was started Pryor led off, but soon 
fell back two or three lengths behind his rival, maintain- 
ing that place until the last half mile of the heat, when, 
by a terrific bust of speed, he passed Lecomte and ran 
home at a pace that could not be challenged, winning 
the heat by fully a clear length. The time for the heat 
was 7 minutes, 47 seconds, the different miles being 
coveied in 2 minutes, 1 minute, S7 seconds, i minute, 
38 seconds, and i minute, 52 seconds. Now he was 
backed heavily at even to win, and the result of the 
second heat justified this new confidence in him. The 
second was almost a repetition of the first heat, save 
that it was faster. Pryor lay back until the last half of 



88 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the I'oLirth mile, tlien made liis UmsIi and came in an 
easy winner. The time of the heat was 7 minutes, 44,'j 
seconds, the time of the lirst two miles being eacii, i 
minute, s6 seconds, the thiid mile i minute, s8 seconds, 
and the Iburth mile 1 minute. 54 seconds. One month 
latei', over the Metairie Couise, he again beat Lecomte 
in three-mile heats, winning the second and third heats 
in =. minutes, "^g^^ seconds, and 6 minutes, 12 seconds. 
In June, i8=;6, he conte.sted the Jockey Club Stakes 
of the Fashion Course, on Long Island, four-mile 
heats, with Floride by Wagner, winning in two 
straight heats, upon a heavy track, in 8 minutes, 
i7;'4 seconds, and 8 minutes, 19 seconds, his best 
time for a mile being the fourth mile of the second 
heat, which he ran in i minute, ^0}^ seconds. In July 
of the same year he was taken to England, where he 
died before he was able to show what he might have 
been capable of there. 

After the death of the great Lexington, imported 
Leamington stood at the head of thoroughbred stallions 
in America. He was bred in England by Mr. W. Hal- 
ford. He was got by Faugh-a-Ballagh, his sire being a 
son of Hercules and Guiccioli and the winner of the 
Doncaster St. Leger and Cesarwitch Stakes in 1844. 
His dam was by Pantaloon out of Daphne by Laurel. 
Leamington made his first appearance on the turf in 
1855 as a two-year old, winning the Woodcote Stakes 
at Warwick. After several unsuccessful runnings at 
other meetings he carried ofl' the Chesterfield Stakes at 
the Derby meeting, in his three-year old form his first 
race was in the Epsom Derby, for which he had been 
heavily backed, but he was beaten by Ellington. He 
won the town plate at Warwick and the Stewards' Cup 
at Shrewsbury, and was beaten in six small handicaps. 
For the Chester Cup of 18S7 he started second favorite in 
a field of thirty-five horses and won with the greatest 
ease. At Ascot he was not placed for the Gold Cup 
that was won by Skirmisher, but at Goodwood, with 
the tremendous odds of 100 to } against him and carry- 
ing 118 pounds, he won the Goodwood Stakes, two 
miles and a half, from a field of eighteen, among whom 
were Fisherman, Gunboat and Pretty Boy. 

In his five-year old form he ran unplaced for the 
Cesarwitch Stakes at Newmarket and did not appear 
again until he was entered for the Chester Cup of 1859, 
when he was six years old. He started first favorite at 
T to I in a field of thirty-three starters, among them 
Prioress, Fisherman, Roman Candle, the winner of the 
Goodwood Stakes the year before; Rogerthorpe, winner 
of the Goodwood Cup in 1856; Polestar, Underhand and 
many other good horses, and won in a canter by two 
lengths. At Ascot, for the Queen's Gold Vase, he was 
second to Schism, and, at Goodwin, ran unplaced to The 
I^romised Land for the Cup. This was his last race, for 



he soon after broke down in his training and was sent to 
the stud. For five years, beginning with i860, he stood 
at Rawcliffe's stud paddocks, near York, but was not 
regarded as a successful stallion, owing, doubtless, to 
his powers having been overtaxed in his early turf 
career. Among others of note whom he sired in Hug- 
land were (loop d'Htat, Catalogue, Bella, Lady Sefton, 
Leicester, Bolero. Rebecca, Variation, Esmeralda, Scipio, 
Haymaker and Percussion. 

In wSO^, Leamington was purchased by Mr. R. W. 
Cameron, of the Clilton Stud, Staten Island, N. Y., who 
paid $7,875 for him. His first season was spent in Ken- 
tucky at General Abe Buford's farm, Bosc^ue Bonita. Dur- 
ing this season he got twelve foals, among them those 
great racers, Longfellow, Lynchburg, Lyttleton and En- 
c]uirer, whose subsecjuent careers were as brilliant as those 
of any American thoroughbreds of this generation. Lyttle- 
ton and Enquirer were respectively out of Fanny Holton 
and Lida, both of whom were Lexington dams. His next 
three seasons were spent at Staten Island, where he was 
not very successful, Eolus, Elsie and Inverary being the 
best of his produce. In the fall of 1809, Mr. Aristides 
Welch, of Chestnut Hill, near Philadelphia, purchased 
him and proceeded to breed him largely to the best 
daughters of Lexington, believing that therein lay his 
greatest value as a stallion. His get matured early and 
developed the rare speed that made him so formidable 
in his four-year old form. Among the most famous of 
his progeny were Reform, Netty Norton, Ida Wells, 
Aristides, Rhadamanthus, Lelaps, Bob Woolly, Parole, 
Faithless, Pappoose, Iroquois, Girofle, Onondaga, Lucifer 
and Mineola. He died in 1878, very unexpectedly, at 
the age of twenty-five. He was a horse of great size, 
standing 16 hands, 2 inches high and of a dark brown 
color. 

Another example of the value to be derived from 
the union of the newer Australian blood with the older 
Lexington and Glencoe has been seen in Spendthrift. 
Foaled in 1878 by Australian out of Aerolite, Spend- 
thrift had as good blood as any, even the most famous, 
American thoroughbred could boast. Australian, son ot 
West Australian and Emilia, and Aerolite, daughter of 
Lexington and Florine by Glencoe and Melody, gave 
him crosses of the greatest American and English pedi- 
grees. He traced to Matchem in the paternal line and 
had the blood of Herod and Eclipse, as well as that of 
later ancestry of the foremost rank. It has been said 
of him that he "was one of the best race horses ever 
stripped on this continent and one of the finest specimens 
of thoroughbred horses ever foaled." As a two-year old 
he won in every event in which he was started. In 
his three-year old form he won the Belmont and the 
Lorillard Stakes and the Champion Stakes at Monmouth 
Park. His victory for the Lorillard Stakes was one of 



89 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the finest ever seen for th;it event, in the field of eleven 
which he defeated being Harold, Monitor, Magnetism, 
and others. For the Travers and the Kenner Stakes he 
was beaten by Falsetto. Purchased by Mr. James R. 
Keene, he was sent to England, but was not successful 
there, although he was started for the Cambridgeshire. 
Being returned to this country, he was relegated to the 
stud after he had run several races. He has been more 
famous through his get than through his own perform- 
ances. His most celebrated get have been Kingston, 
Lamplighter, Pickpocket, Speedwell, Lazzarone, De- 
fiulter, Prodigal, Golden Reel, Speculation, Bankrupt 
and Stockton. In 1893, sixty-two of his sons and 
daughters started in 1,055 races, being first in 113, and 
in the following year fifty of his get started in 652 races, 
of which they won 8^ 

Son of Eolus and War Song, the bay horse St. Saviour 
had in his pedigree, on both the paternal and the mater- 
nal lines, some of the most acceptable thoroughbred 
blood. His dam. War Song by War Dance, was also 
the dam of Eole, Eolis. Eola and Eolo. Through War 
Dance, by Lexington out of Reel, he had the famous 
Glencoe-Gallopade cross. Through Faugh-a-Ballagh, 
— the sire of Leamington — and Birdcatcher, — the sire of 
imported Knight of St. George, who was the sire of his 
second dam, Eliza Davis — he had the great double cross 
of Eclipse. His third dam, Melrose, transmitted to him a 
strain of the good Melbourne blood. St. Saviour was 
foaled in 1881 and bred by Colonel R. J. Hancock, of 
Virginia. As a three-year old he ran four races, of 
which he won three. For the Emporium at Sheepshead 
Bay, 1 'j miles, he was second to Rataplan. He won 
the Barnegat Stakes at Monmouth Park in 2 minutes, 40 
seconds, beating Duchess, Bob Miles and Himalaya, and 
also carried off the Raritan Stakes in 2 minutes, 1 1 >2 
seconds. This ended his career on the turf, and he was 
retired to the stud, where he has produced such winners 
as Zobair, Gilead, De Bracy and Monita. 

Three horses that made the greatest stir in the racing 
world toward the close of the Civil War were the three 
sons of Lexington, Kentucky, Norfolk and Asteroid. 
Kentucky was bred at Ashland by Mr. John M. Clay. 
He was out of Magnolia, a daughter of the famous 
Glencoe. When he was two-years old, in October, 
1863, he won his first race at Paterson, N. J. In the sum- 
mer of the following year he met and was defeated by 
his half-brother and rival, Norfolk, in the Derby Sweep- 
stakes, \]2 miles. He was sold to Mr. John F. Purdy, 
and afterward became the property of Mr. W. R. Travers. 
Few horses ever had a more brilliant career on the turf, 
and for many years he defeated every competitor against 
whom he was matched. In later years he was sold to 
Mr. Leonard W. Jerome for $40,000, and then became 
the property of Mr. August Belmont, in October, 1867, 



he was backed to run against time, four miles in 7 
minutes and 20 seconds, carrying 120 pounds. The 
trial took place October 17 of that year, in the presence 
of 20,000 people, at Jerome Park, and the noble stallion, 
who was badly ridden, failed in his attempt by 11% 
seconds. 

Norfolk, got by Lexington, was out of Novice, another 
daughter of Glencoe. After defeating Kentucky in 1864 
he was taken to California by his owner, Mr. D. D. 
Withers, and there won greater triumphs than he had 
achieved in the East. His contests with Lodi, who was 
a son of Yorkshire, were among the most brilliant racing 
events ever known in California, and even attracted the 
attention of sportsmen in the East and in England. At 
the first meeting of these two great horses at the Union 
Park, Sacramento, September 18, 1865. Norfolk was suc- 
cessful in winning a race of two-mile heats. Five days 
later the two horses again met and then occurred one of 
the most terrific struggles ever recorded in the annals of 
the turf The first heat was won by Norfolk in the 
unprecedented time of 5 minutes, 27^2 seconds, with 
Lodi closely lapped upon his c|uarter. Norfolk also won 
the second heat in 5 minutes, 29 >4 seconds, Lodi gaining 
upon his competitor as he came down the homestretch, 
with the right forefoot spurting blood at every stride. 

The third of these remarkable half-brothers was 
Asteroid out of Nebula, another daughter of Glencoe. 
He was bred by Mr. R. A. Alexander, of Woodburn, 
and first distinguished himself on the turf by defeating 
Loadstone at Louisville, running the first mile of the 
second heat of a two-mile race in 1 minute, 44 seconds. 
Discussion as to the relative merits of Kentucky and 
Asteroid was very animated among horsemen, and in 
time assumed the proportions and character of the 
historic thoroughbred controversies between the North 
and South in the earlier part of the century. In this case 
it was again the South against the North, and in i856 
Asteroid came to Jerome Park, where he was entered 
for the Inauguration Stakes in September of that year. 
Kentucky had been entered for the same race, and 
expectation and speculation ran high over what promised 
to be one of the great racing events of the period. 
People came from all parts of the country to New York 
to witness the contest, and large amounts of money were 
staked upon its outcome. Unhappily, however, dis- 
appointment was in store, for before the date fixed for 
the race. Asteroid in a trial gallop in the mud sprung a 
tendon and broke down. His career as a racer thus 
having been brought to an end, he returned to the We.st 
and entered the stud. 

One of the romantic incidents of the Civil War per- 
tained to the attempted carrying off of Asteroid from the 
Woodburn Farm. The guerillas, as well as the regular 
troops of the two contending armies, all had an affection 



90 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



for the horses of Kentucky th;it was particularly mani- 
fested by their selection of thoroughbreds whenever they 
could lay hands upon them. A company of raiders 
seized Asteroid and made off with him. The owner 
and his friends followed in hot pursuit, and overtaking 
the gLieiillas, entered into negotiations for the return of 
the animal. With arms in hand a tlnal treaty was 
arranged, by virtue of which the son of Lexington was 
released in exchange for two other horses that wei'e of 
good equality, even if they lacked the family distinction 
and the pedigree that pertained to the choicest and most 
valued denizen of the Woodburn stable. At the time 
when Asteroid was carried off the artist Troye was 
engaged in painting his portrait, and his principal 
grievance at the guerillas was because of the interruption 
of his work. After the recovery of the horse this por- 
trait, in which his trainer, old Ansel, and his jockey, 
Brown Dick, are introduced, though on a reduced scale, 
with the c]uaint idea of not detracting from the superior 
importance of the animal, was completed and for years 
remained the property of the Alexander estate. 

Foaled in 1867 by imported Leamington out of Lida, 
by Lexington, Enquirer was one of the great stallions of 
the last quarter of the nineteenth century on the Ameri- 
can turf. Among his ancestors were many of the 
ending thoroughbreds of England and America. 
Through Leamington, as has been set forth on a 
preceding page, he traced to the great cracks of the 
English turf. The pedigree of Lexington, the sire of his 
dam, is familiar to every one at all acquainted with the 
history of the turf. Lize, his maternal grandam, was a 
daughter of the famous American Eclipse, son of Duroc, 
and her dam was Gabrielle A., daughter of Sir Archy 
and Calypso. Neither Lida nor Lize were ever trained, 
but Gabrielle was a good race mare and was the dam of 
the great four-miler, who defeated Reel and Hanna, the 
best four-mile heat racers of their day. Bred at the 
Bosque Bonita Stud of General A. Buford, Enquirer Hrst 
bore the name Louisville, but afterward received the 
name of Enquirer, in honor of the Cincinnati newspaper 
of that name. As a two-year old he won a single race 
out of the three in which he started. The following 
season, 1870, he won all the events in which he took 
part, six in number, among them being the Phtcnix 
Hotel Stakes, the Robins Stakes, two-mile heats, in 3 
minutes, 56)^ seconds, 3 minutes, 54^^ seconds, and 4 
minutes, beating Kingfisher ; and the Kenner Stakes, 
two miles, in 3 minutes, 48,'4' seconds. 

His lirst appearance in the East was in the race for the 
Continental Hotel Stakes at Monmouth Park, when he 
defeated Maggie B. B., Susan Ann and Lynchburgh. In 
the autumn of this year he broke down while in training 
and was retired to General Buford"s stud, in 1879. he 
became the property of General Harding and was added 



to the Belle Meade Stud. His success in the stud was 
remarkable. During the eighteen years from 1875 to 
1893, his get won $566,174. Several of his daughters 
became the dams of distinguished race horses. His 
daughter, Mannie Gray, was the dam of Domino; End- 
less was the dam of Boundless, who won the American 
Derby, i '2 miles, in 2 minutes, 36 seconds, defeating 
Clifford, Ramapo, Don Alonzo and St. Leonard; Exile 
was the dam of La Grande anil others of his daughters 
threw Correction, Saxony and others. Enquirer was 
also the sire of Inspector B., Falsetto, Egmont, McWhir- 
ter, Lizzie McWhirter, Getaway, Harkaway, Pinafore, 
Reporter, Little Phil, Caligula, Enigma and nLunerous 
other good ones. Falsetto, Inspector B. and McWhirter 
were the best of his get. Through Falsetto his mem- 
ory has been perpetuated in this generation by Dew- 
drop, Rupert, Fordham, Portchester, Counter-Tenor and 
others. 

Longfellow, son of Leamington and Nantuia, rivaled 
even the immortal Lexington in popularity. Through- 
out his long and brilliant career he was the equine idol 
of the United States, and was elevated to a pinnacle of 
admiration, such as it has been the fortune of but few 
thoroughbreds to attain, either in this country or in 
Europe. To this day old turfmen and even those who 
have had no more than the merest acquaintance with 
the race course, hold him in fond remembrance. His 
sire, who contested with Lexington the honors of the 
stud in this country a third of a century ago, endowed 
him with the best equine blood of England. His dam, 
Nantura, was by Brawner's Eclipse out of Quiz. Braw- 
ner's Eclipse was a son of American Eclipse, by Duroc, 
and out of a daughter of Henry and Young Romp. 
Quiz was a daughter of Bertrand and Lady Fortune, 
Bertrand being by Sir Archy out of Eliza, while Lady 
Fortune was by Brimmer out of Woodpecker's dam. It 
has been pointed oLit that his pedigree is full of those 
"old-fashioned, hard - bottomed American crosses 
founded on early importations, and is one of the most 
thoroughly American pedigrees in existence, being full 
offoui-mile crosses." In the person of Brawner's Eclipse 
was united the blood of those great rivals, American 
Eclipse and Sir Henry, and with them four crosses of 
Diomed and two of Messenger. Nantura was bred by 
Mr. A. J. Holton, of Kentucky, in 18=,=;, and was a fnst- 
class performer on the turf, being particularly successful 
in winning two-mile heats. In the stud she produced 
Fanny Holton by Lexington, Exchange by Endorser. 
Longfellow by Leamington, Germantown by Planet and 
other good ones. She died in 1873. 

Longfellow was foaled in 1866. He was a handsome 
brown horse, is hands, 3 inches high, with a large blaze 
on the face and both hind fetlocks white. He was not 
graceful in motion, but had a lengthy stride and, when 



9' 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



fairly extended, his style was everything that could be 
asked for. Few horses on the turf were more easily 
managed, or had a more agreeable disposition, which 
probably accounts to some extent for the high esteem in 
which he was held by the public. In his three-year old 
form he ran five races, winning three of them, the Pro- 
duce Stakes at Lexington, two-mile heats, in 3 minutes, 
43X seconds, and 3 minutes, 44 seconds; the Ohio 
Stakes at Cincinnati, two-mile heats, in 3 minutes, 37'j 
seconds, and 3 minutes, S5/2 seconds; the City Stakes 
at Nashville, tenn., two-mile heats, in 3 minutes, 4\}i 
seconds, and 3 minutes, 41 seconds; the Post Stakes at 
Memphis, Tenn., two-mile heats, in 3 minutes, 40,'^ 
seconds and 3 minutes, 40 seconds. The next year he 
was first in five races and second in one, his successes 
being a two-mile heat race at Lexington, Ky. ; the Mon- 
mouth Cup race at Long Branch, two and one-half miles, 
in 4 minutes, 41, '4 seconds; the Saratoga Cup race, in 
Saratoga, two and one-quarter miles, in 4 minutes, 2^ 
seconds; the purse race at Saratoga, two and three-quar- 
ter miles, and the Jockey Club Purse race at Lexington, 
Ky., two-mile heats, in 3 minutes, ^8-}i seconds, and 3 
minutes, 41 K seconds. 

In 1S72, he won four out of the five races in which he 
started, including the Monmouth Cup at Long Branch, 
two and one-half miles, in 4 minutes, 34 seconds; and the 
Jersey Jockey Club Purse, mile heats, in i minute, ^6% 
seconds; i minute, S4 seconds, and 1 minute, 43^ sec- 
onds. His victory over Harry Bassett for the Monmouth 
Cup established his reputation as a great racer more 
firmly than ever before, and that was followed by the 
smashing race for the Saratoga Cup, which has been 
called "one of the most savage struggles in racing 
annals," and out of which he came a wreck. Entering 
the stud in 1873, this great son of Leamington produced 
in the first season Leonard, Oddfellow and Lady Salyers; 
Leonard won the Saratoga and Nursery Stakes as a two- 
year old. Other of his famous progeny have been Edin- 
burgh, Long Taw, h'ish King, Thora and Leonatus. 

Served in England, Babta, the dam of Glenelg, foaled 
her colt in this country the following season. She was 
imported along with Leamington, and Glenelg was 
dropped at Mr. R. W. Cameron's breeding establish- 
ment on Staten Island, N. Y., in the early spring of 1866. 
Citadel, the sire of Glenelg, was a large, handsome horse 
by Stockwell out of Sortie, who was out of Escapade, 
daughter of Touchstone and Ghuznee, winner of the 
Oaks in 1841. Babta was a small bay mare, bred by Sir 
J. B. Mill in i8s8, and never achieved a record on the 
turf. She was sold by Mr. Cameron to Mr. August 
Belmont, afterward became the property of Mr. Pierre 
Lorillard, and was shot as useless in 1882. Glenelg was 
bought as a yearling by Mr. Belmont and made his 
debut in 1869 in a match race of one mile with Mr. 



Leonard W. Jerome's filly Rapture, winning the race 
with ease. His career from that point on was one of 
brilliant success and it was at one time said of him 
that "his record proves him to be the best imported 
horse which has run upon the American course." He 
met the greatest performers of his time and was gener- 
ally successful. 

In 1871, Glenelg appeared eighteen times, winning ten 
races, coming in second four times and third three times, 
being once unplaced. This was the year of such great 
performers as Helmbold, Hamburgh, Preakness, Judge 
Curtis, Vespucius and others, and yet Glenelg held his 
own with the best of them. Breaking down in 1872, he 
was sold to Mr. M. H. Sanford, for the North Elkhorn 
Stud, the sum of $10,000 being paid for him, with the 
mares Ulrica and Finesse thrown in. He made his first 
season in 1873, and some of his progeny became dis- 
tinguished performers on the turf. Chief among them 
were Danicheff out of Salina, General Philips out of La 
Polka, Herbert, who was first called Tom Plunkett, Ada 
Glenn out of Catina, and Belinda out of Madam Dudley. 
Glenelg was a blood bay, without a speck of white, with 
black points, and stood a little more than 16 hands high. 
He was a large, heavily built horse, and his produce 
have been distinguished for strong constitutions, stout 
bodies and a generally handsome blood-like appearance. 

Luke Blackburn, who was probably one of the fastest 
horses that the world has ever seen, ranked in his day 
with Lexington, Cremorne, Gladiateur, Longfellow, Hin- 
doo and others of that class. He had to his credit some 
of the most remarkable conquests in modern turf annals, 
and that, too, in the face of discouragements and mis- 
fortune that might easily have proved his ruin. Foaled in 
1877, he was the son of imported Bonnie Scotland, dam 
Nevada. The pedigree of Bonnie Scotland has been else- 
where given in these pages, where it is shown that his 
blood was of the best that the English thoroughbred 
could boast. Nevada, who was one of the greatest 
daughters of Lexington, was out of Lightsome, her dam 
being by imported Glencoe, and out of Levity, the par- 
ents of the latter being imported Trustee and the dam of 
the famous Vandal. Luke Blackburn was bred at Ken- 
nesaw, the establishment of Captain James Franklin. He 
was not a promising yearling, either in size or appear- 
ance, and, in fact, was an object of ridicule by many 
who saw him. When he was a year old, he was sold 
to Mr. James T. Williams for $510, and in the following 
spiing was put into regular training, and to the surprise of 
everybody developed extraordinary speed. It was when 
he indicated this promising future that he was named 
Luke Blackburn in compliment to the Governor of Ken- 
tucky. 

As a two-year old he ran thirteen races and won only 
two, which somewhat dampened the ardor of those who 



92 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



IkkI phiced gre;it iMith upon liini. V\c was probably 
overworked, and thus lost liis speed, and also had to 
contest with some very fast and experienced ones. The 
Messrs. Dwyer Brothers next came into possession of 
him, and he was put into training in Louisville, but fell 
into ill health, so that his training finally had to be prac- 
tically abandoned. In the single race that he ran, the 
Phccnix Hotel Stakes, at the Lexington Spring Meeting, 
he came in third to Fonso and Kinkead. When he was 
brought on to the spring meeting at Jerome Park that 
year he was still unpromising, but won five races under 
favorable conditions, beating such horses as Checkmate, 
Monitor and others. Beginning with the first meeting 
at Sheepshead Bay, he achieved distinguished success, 
his victories including the Tidal Stakes in i minute, 45 
seconds, the Coney island Handicap in 2 minutes, 24^4 
seconds, the Ocean Stakes in 2 minutes, ^yi seconds, 
the All Aged Stakes, the Grand Union Prize, the Kenner 
Stakes and two short-distance purses at Saratoga; later 
at the autumn meeting, at Sheepshead Bay, he won the 
Great Challenge Stake and the Long Island St. Leger, 
and then at Louisville won the Kentucky St. Leger and 
the Great American Stallion Stakes. Altogether during 
the year he ran twenty-four races, winning twenty-two 
of them and carrying off $46,q7> In only one instance 
was he beaten by a horse whom he did not afterward 
defeat: that one was Fonso, whom he never chanced to 
meet a second time. He became a gi'eat favoiite on the 
turf, perhaps no horse, except Longfellow, attaining to 
such a high degree of popularity with the public at 
large. After being withdrawn from the turf he was put 
into the stud at General Jackson's Belle Meade Farm. 

During one brief season Monarchist trailed in the dust 
the colors of his half brother, the great Harry Bassett. 
His name will forever stand high on the list of the 
greatest sons and daughters of Lexington, challenging 
interest and admiration with Idlewild, Asteroid, Nor- 
folk, Kentucky, Harry Bassett, Duke of Magenta and 
others. The dam of Monarchist was Mildred, whose 
family in its various branches transmitted some of the 
best blood in America. The grandam of Mildred was 
the dam of Vandal and Alaric, while her dam, Levity, 
was also the dam of such famous horses as Runic, by 
Sovereign, Lightsome by Glencoe, and Lever and 
Legatee, by Lexington. Mildred was a bay mare bred 
in 1836 by the Honorable W. A. Dudley, of Kentucky. 
She was never seen upon a race course, but was sent to 
the stud when two years old. 

Monarchist was bred at the Woodburn establishment, 
and was sold as a yearling to Mr. M. H. Sanford for 
$1,900, having been foaled in 1868. In his three-year 
old form he started out by winning the Handicap for all 
ages, mile heats, at Monmouth Park, in August, 1871, 
in 1 minute, 50 seconds, i minute, ')2'/( seconds, and 2 



minutes, 2}4 seconds. His other successes of this season 
were the Annual Sweepstakes at Jerome Park, two miles, 
in 5 minutes, ^}j4 seconds; the Grand National Handi- 
cap, at Jerome Park, two and one-quarter miles, in 4 
minutes, 9 seconds, and the Post Stakes, all ages, at 
New Orleans, two-mile heats, in 3 minutes, ^}}4 
seconds, and 3 minutes, 49}^ seconds. During this, his 
first season on the turf, he ran eight races, being first 
by the post in four, second in three and unplaced in 
one, winning .$10, 3(-)0. The following year he ran nine 
races, in eight of which he was successful, winning 
$13,550, and being third in the remaining race. He 
started out by winning a one and one-half mile race at 
New Orleans, in 2 minutes, 44^ seconds, following 
this by taking the Metairie Cup, two and one-quarter 
miles, in 4 minutes, 12 seconds; the Grand Inaugural 
Post Stakes, at New Orleans, two-mile heats, in 3 
minutes, 39 seconds, and 3 minutes, 44 seconds; the 
Louisiana Stakes, at New Orleans, two-mile heats, in 3 
minutes, 44'- seconds, and 3 minutes, 40 seconds, and 
the Mansion House Stakes, at Monmouth Park, two and 
one-half miles, in 4 minutes, 475^ seconds. Then came 
his two famous victories over Harry Bassett, at Jerome 
Park, three miles, in 5 minutes, 34^2 seconds, and four 
miles in 7 minutes, 33^2 seconds. He closed the season 
by winning a three-mile race at Baltimore, in the slow 
time of 6 minutes, i ^4 seconds. 

While in training for the spring meeting, at Jerome 
Park, in 1873, he broke down and was removed from 
the turf. Entering the stud, he was successful there for 
the next ten years. His death occurred in 1883. Among 
his most successful progeny were Monarch, Aristocrat. 
Frankie B., Experiment and Marchioness. Although he 
was on the race course only two seasons, he left a 
reputation of being one of the best race horses of the 
decade in which he appeared. He was a blood bay with 
star and snip, and stood 1 5 hands, 3 inches high. One 
of his most striking features was his close likeness 
to his more famous father. Indeed, so conspicuous was 
this that he was called a Lexington of Lexingtons. In 
the stud he transmitted some of the best qualities of the 
Lexington blood to his descendants. 

Foaled in 1873, Mollie McCarthy, who died in 1883, 
was during the ten years of her life one of the foremost 
favorites of the turf in California. Her sire was Monday, 
son of Colton, who was by Lexington, out of Topaz by 
Glencoe, Topaz being out of Esmerelda by Leviathan. 
The sire of Leviathan was Reubens by Buzzard out of 
the dam of Alexander, her dam being a daughter of 
Highfiyer, Herod's best son, while Alexander was a son 
of the great Eclipse. Mollie Jackson, the dam of Mon- 
day, was by Vandal. The dam of Mollie McCarthy was 
Hennie Farrow by Shamrock out of Ida, who was by 
imported Belshazzar out of Madam Bosleyby Sir Richard 



93 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Tonson, one of the four famous brothers of the celebrated 
Tonson family of Tennessee. Mollie McCarthy was a 
remarkably handsome horse, muscular, and with all the 
marks of her high-bred origin. Taken to California, 
she was eminently successful on the turf there, defeating 
all the best horses against whom she was engaged and 
'pushing herself rapidly to the front as a popular favorite. 
Finally having swept everything before her, the California 
turfmen came to believe that she had developed a speed 
that would give her the right to try conclusions with 
the best horses of the East, even as she had defeated 
the champions of the Pacific coast. Coming East in 
1878, she was matched to run against Ten Broeck in 
that famous race of four-mile heats at Louisville, that 
resulted so disastrously for her. She was beaten to a 
standstill and the outcome of the match, as well as the 
manner in which it was projected and conducted, was 
for a long time the subject of a great deal of unpleasant 
controversy, especially on the part of many who believed 
that it had not been fairly managed. The same season 
she tried for the Cup at Minneapolis, but was unsuc- 
cessful. 

Returning to the Pacific coast, she renewed her suc- 
cessful career the following spring by beating Mark L. 
and Mattie Moore in a race for i J^ miles. Then she 
crossed the Rocky Mountains again and at Chicago won 
the Garden City Cup, beating a field of twelve starters. 
She ran away from the entire field and won the race in 
a canter, having left the others behind her before she 
had reached the end of the first mile. She carried iIt 
pounds and covered the course, 2J2 miles, in 4 minutes. 
2 seconds. In the field on this occasion was every cup 
winner of any standing in the Mississippi Valley. Her 
time foi' this distance is one of the best records that 
stands to the credit of cup events. Bramble had a lower 
record when he captured the Baltimore Cup in 4 minutes, 
i^ seconds, and Fortuna won the Louisville Cup in 4 
minutes, iji' seconds. After this victory in Chicago, 
the California mare was matched to meet Bramble, but 
while she was in training her leg failed her and she was 
retired from the turf. During the five seasons that she 
was racing she ran sixteen times and was only twice 
defeated, the first time in the four-mile heat race with 
Ten Broeck, at Louisville, and the second time by Gov- 
ernor Neptune for the Cup at Minneapolis, in dashes at 
from 1,;^ miles to 3 miles, she was regarded as almost 
invincible. After she was taken from the turf she spent 
the remaining years of her life at the Santa Bonita Ranch 
of her owner, Mr. E. J. Baldwin, and there she died 
after having produced several colts of distinction. 

During the early seventies no horse in America was 
more widely known or had a more distinguished repu- 
tation than Preakness. He had a notable career on the 
American turf, achieved triumphs in England and finally 



came to an unfortunate end. Bred by Mr. R. A. Alex- 
ander, at the Woodburn Stud, in 1867, he was a son of 
Lexington by Bayleaf, who was by Yorkshire. Among 
his full brothers were Bayflower, Baywood, Bayswater, 
Bayonet, Beacon and Niagara. He was purchased by 
Mr. M. H. Sanford. as a yearling, but did not appear 
upon the track until in his three-year old form, and even 
then ran only once, at the first fall meeting of the Mary- 
land Jockey Club at Baltimore, when he captured the 
Dinner Party Stakes, which was then the first time run 
for, and for which he had been specially trained. He was 
a horse of strong constitution and great power, but re- 
c]uired caieful training and handling. His winning of the 
Dinner Party Stakes, which was worth $18,500, and, 
with the exception of the Bailie Peyton Stakes, was the 
richest ever lun in America, established his reputation at 
once. 

In his four-year old form he won three races out of the 
seven in which he was started, the Westchester Cup and 
the Maturity Stakes at Jerome Park, and the Pimlico 
Stakes at Baltimore. As a five-year old he started nine 
times but succeeded in winning only twice. When he 
came out in 1873 he was able to win the Long Branch 
Stakes and the Manhattan Jockey Club and Grand Na- 
tional Handicaps at Jerome Park. The following year, 
when he was seven years old, he was entered in seven 
races and won four. His last season in his native land 
was in 187s. He started in by winning the Baltimore 
Cup at Pimlico Park in the spring of that year and then 
was taken to Saratoga, where he was specially prepared 
and entered for the Saratoga Cup. There he was called 
upon to contest with a tield of six of the greatest cracks 
of that period. Springbok, Olitipa, Grinstead, Aaron Pen- 
nington, Rutherford and Wildidle. The previous year 
he had fought stubbornly with Springbok for the cup, 
and the second meeting of the two was looked upon as 
likely to be one of the sensational events of the year. 
Expectation was not disappointed for, in this trial, the 
race resulted in a dead heat between the two after one of 
the fiercest struggles ever known to the turf, and in the 
fastest time ever recorded for a Saratoga Cup race. 

Although eight years old at that time Preakness 
showed such remarkable power and almost youthful 
vigor that Mr. Sanford decided to take him to Europe as 
the principal member of the string which he hoped 
would carry his " dark blue " to victory on many a lield 
in the Old Country. The turf career of the old stallion, 
was, however, at an end. His performances in England 
were only a source of grievous disappointment to his 
owner and admirers, and gave the English turfites 
another opportunity to declaim against the American 
thoroughbred. Although started several times, he suc- 
ceeded only in walking over for the Brighton Cup, his 
best performance being third place to New Holland and 



94 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Tfiiiplc Bmi' lor tlu' Goodwood Cup. Bcinjj; witlidrawn 
iVoiii the tuil', he was purchased by the Duke of Hamil- 
ton, wlio set great store by his form and for a few yeai's 
he did good service in the stud, getting several excellent 
performers, particularly Sweets and Fiddler. Finally he 
developed a violent temper, so that it was difficult to 
manage him, and his owner had him shot. 

A famous daughter of Lexington was Nevada, a bay 
mare, bred by Mr. A. J. Alexander, of the Woodburn 
Stud, and foaled in 1869. She was out of Lightsome by 
imported Glencoe, and nothing further than the mere 
statement of the Lexington descent is needed to show 
the superb quality of her blood. She did not run as a 
two-year old, but in her three-year old form won two 
out of the five races in which she was engaged, her 
most important success being the West End Hotel 
Stakes at Monmouth Park, for which she defeated, 
among others, Mr. McGrath's Jury. In the autumn of 
the same year at Baltimore she won the three-year old 
sweepstakes at one mile, beating Sue Ryder and im- 
ported Buckden. When the season of 1873 opened she 
began by winning mile heats at Nashville, and then ran 
three races at Monmouth Park, in each of which she was 
defeated. Showing a lame leg her turf career was 
abruptly brought to an end and she was sent to the 
stud. 

As a brood mare she was eminently successful, trans- 
mitting to her progeny the best qualities of the Lex- 
ington and other great families from which she was 
descended. In 1874, she produced the bay filly 
Nova Zembla bv imported Glengarry. In 1876, she 
threw the bay filly Emma Cooper, also by imported 
Glengarry. In 1877, she produced the bay colt, Luke 
Blackburn by Bonnie Scotland, in 1878, the bay colt 
Greenland, and the following year the bay Lilly Green 
Age, both by imported Glengarry. Her most successful 
sons were Luke Blackburn and Greenland, especially 
the former, who developed into one of the greatest 
race horses of this generation. Nevada was of medium 
size, I5J'3 hands high, of fine proportions, and as hand- 
some a mare as was ever seen upon the course or in the 
stud. 

A famous son of Enquirer, Falsetto, who was foaled 
in 1876, cut a considerable figure during the years that 
he was upon the turf, and his get have also been 
distinguished performers. His dam was Farfaletta, 
daughter of Australian and Elkhorn. Thus he had 
numerous crosses of all the great thoroughbred families, 
his sire transmitting to him the blood of Leamington and 
Lexington and their progenitors, while his dam gave him 
the blood of the Australian, Melbourne, Emilius, Lexing- 
ton and Glencoe stock. His grandam, Elkhorna, was 
by Lexington, out of Glencona, who was by Glencoe. 
Falsetto did not start as a two-year old, but when he 



came upon the tuif in the ensuing year he swept the 
course, being only once beaten, and then by Lord 
Murphy for the Kentucky Derby. His winning races 
were the Phcrnix Hotel Stakes, in 2 minutes, 8^ 
seconds; the Clark Stakes, in 3 minutes, 40^2 seconds; 
the Travers Stakes, in 3 minutes, ()'4 seconds, defeating 
Spendthrift, Harold, Jericho and Dan Sparling, and the 
Kenner Stakes, in 3 minutes, 39^ seconds, defeating 
Spendthrift, Jericho, Monitor and Harold. After the close 
of his three-old career, Mr. Pierre Lorillard purchased 
him and added him to his English stable. In the Old 
World, however, he never came to the track, but break- 
ing down in preparation, was returned to the United 
States and entered the Woodburn Stud. As a sire he 
won a reputation second to none in his generation. 
The list of high-classed performers that he produced is 
long and imposing. His most celebrated get were Dew- 
drop, Rupert, Fordham, Gascon, Patron, Portchester, 
Frontenac, Counter-Tenor, Miss Dixie, Pearl Song and 
Bright Phoebus. In 1895, forty-three out of fifty-six of 
his get that started were winners. 

Toward the end of the decade just preceding the Civil 
War Planet, by Revenue out of Nina by Boston, was 
the hero of many exploits, and was considered by ex- 
perts to be the best race horse that had been lun in 
America since Lexington had left the turf. Planet was 
of the same blood as Alice Hawthorne, the queen of 
the turf in her day, nearly, if not quite, the best race 
mare that was run in England forty years and more ago. 
and the dam of Thormanby, a Derby winner, both Planet 
and Alice Hawthorne being descended from Eclipse, 
Diomed and Lottery. In his veins Planet also united the 
blood of Timoleon and Sir Charles, the two great sons 
of Sir Archy. His great achievement was in defeating 
Congaree and Daniel Boone for a $20,000 sweepstakes 
on the Fashion Course, Long Island, in September, i860. 
In February of the following year he met Albine on the 
course in Charleston, S. C, in a four-mile heat contest 
and was defeated in two straight heats, although up to 
that time he had been deemed by many invincible at 
that distance. The time of the two heats was 7 min- 
utes, }6}4 seconds and 7 minutes, 42)4 seconds. 

Planet belonged at that time to the Messrs. Doswell, 
of Virginia. Albine, who was a four-year old, was by 
Jeff Davis, out of a dam by imported Monarch. Her 
pedigree was unexceptionable. She was got by Jeff 
Davis, out of a dam by imported Monarch, out of im- 
ported Eliza by Filho-da-Puta, and represented through 
her sire the best blood of South Carolina, Bertrand. Bert- 
rand, Jr., Hero and Jeff Davis. Hero, the sire of Jeff 
Davis, was one of the finest horses ever upon the South 
Carolina turf. Albine was bred by Colonel James Fer- 
guson and was a ciiestULit. is hands. 3 inches high, with 
a streak of white in the face and a little white on the 



95 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



near hind foot. In her four-ye;H- old form she beat 
Nicholas 1. a two-mile race, and the same year defeated 
Exchecquer in a three-mile race and won the Puryear 
Stakes, three-mile heats, beating Fanny Washington, an- 
other very fast one, over a track that was covered with 
December mud and snow. 

Harry Bassett was foaled in i86S and bred by Mr. A. 
J. Alexander, of the Woodburn Stud. He was one of 
the most famous sons of Lexington. His dam was 
Canary Bird by imported Albion; his second dam 
Penola by imported Ainderby; his third dam imported 
Sweetbriar by Recovery; his fourth dam Primrose by 
Comus; his fifth dam Cowslip by Cockfighter; his sixth 
dam Brown Javelin bv Javelin; his seventh dam Young 
Maiden by Highflyer; his eighth dam Maiden by 
Matchem; his ninth dam the celebrated Pratt mare by 
Squirt and his tenth dam. Lot's dam by Mogul. His 
third dam, Sweetbriar, was imported in 1838 by 
Colonel Lucius J. Polk, of the Ashwood Stud, Ten- 
nessee, who also imported Ainderby, the sire of Penola, 
his second dam. Canary Bird was also the dam. by 
Lexington, of the celebrated Charlie Howard, better 
known, perhaps, as Brother to Bassett. 

As a two-year old, Harry Bassett made his first 
appearance upon the turf when he finished thii'd in the 
race at Saratoga in July, 1870. The next month he won 
the Kentucky Stakes, one mile, beating Buckshot, Susan 
Beane, Aureola, Idaho and others in i minute, siK sec- 
onds. At Jerome Park, the same year, he won the 
Nursery Stakes in i minute, 4q'i seconds. At Balti- 
more, he won the Supper Stakes, distance, one mile, 
beating Madam Dudley, in i minute, 40':^ seconds. He 
began his third year in good fashion by winning the 
Belmont Stakes at Jerome Park in 2 minutes, =j6 seconds, 
defeating Newport, Tubman, Monarchist and others, and 
at Long Branch, in July, he won the Jersey Derby in 2 
minutes, 52)4! seconds, defeating Monarchist, Idaho, 
Wanderer and others. At Saratoga he won the Travers 
Stakes in ^ minutes, 2\i<l seconds, and the Kenner 
Stakes in 3 minutes, 3534 seconds. At Jerome Park, for 
the Champion Stakes, he again defeated Monarchist and 
others in 3 minutes, 54^ seconds. At Baltimore, the 
same year, he had a walkover for the Reunion Stakes 
and beat Preakness and Telegram, two and one-half 
miles, in 5 minutes, 41 J:^ seconds. At the same place, 
in the same month, he beat Humbold for the Bowie 
Stakes in two straight four-mile heats in 7 minutes, 54?/; 
seconds and 8 minutes, }% seconds. 

During his fourth year he defeated Lyttleton for the 
Westchester Cup at Jerome Park, two and one-quarter 
miles, in 4 minutes, 18;^^ seconds; was defeated by 
Longfellow for the Monmouth Cup at Long Branch; de- 
feated Longfellow at Saratoga; defeated Lyttleton at 
Saratoga, three miles, in 5 minutes, 43^ seconds; was 



defeated by Monarchist, for the Maturity Stakes, in 5 
minutes, ^4H' seconds, and was also defeated a second 
time by Monarchist. As a five-year old he had many 
reverses, running second, third or unplaced to such 
horses as Joe Daniels, Hubbard, Wanderer, Preakness 
and Crockford, but he won the Handicap Sweepstakes 
at Jerome Park in 3 minutes, 39^4 seconds, and at Balti- 
more beat Shylock, Warlike, Dick Jackson and others. 
In 1874, he was scarcely more successful than in 1873, 
being defeated in several races by such horses as 
Countess, Grinstead and Balankeel. He then retired 
from the turf and went into the stud, where he got colts 
of high foi'm and good speed. He died in October, 
1S78.'" 

Imported Phaeton, the sire of the great Ten Broeck, 
left two other sons of merit. King Alfonso and St. Martin. 
Bred in 1872 by Mr. Warren Viley, near Midway, Ky., 
King Alfonso was out of Capitola, a bay mare by Van- 
dal, her dam being a Margrave-Mistletoe mare. Capitola 
was own sister to General Abe Buford's colt, Versailles. 
In his two-year old form, in 1874, King Alfonso was en- 
tered in two races, in both of which he ran unplaced. 
In 1875, he won the Kentucky St. Leger, two miles, at 
Louisville, in 3 minutes, 34?^ seconds; the Tobacco 
Stakes at Louisville, mile heats, in i minute, 44^^ seconds 
and 1 minute, 45,'_' seconds; the Gait House Stakes, at 
Louisville, two-mile heats, in 3 minutes, 34 seconds. 3 
minutes, 40X seconds and 3 minutes, 49 seconds, and 
the Link Hotel Stakes, at Nashville, mile heats, in i 
minute, 4s seconds and i minute, 47?^ seconds. In 
three races he beat the great Ten Broeck and was 
regarded as the best three-year old in the West. He 
was expected to accomplish wonders in the follow- 
ing season, and was entered for all the leading stakes 
and cup events of the East. It was thought that he was 
a sure winner for the Westchester Cup, but before he 
had a chance to come out at the first meeting of the 
season, he broke down and was withdrawn from the 
track. Placed in the stud, to succeed Lexington and 
Planet at Woodburn, he became the sire of some of the 
great horses of the next generation. His most famous 
son was Foxhall, who won honors for his country in 
France and England. Others of his get were Grenada, 
Fonso, Quito. Telemachus, Golden Gate, Kate Creel and 
Vera. 

Few, if any, fillies that have ever appeared upon the 
American turf have been the superior of Thora, and, by 
many competent judges, she was even considered to 
have been without a rival. At long intervals, both in 
England and America, fillies have appeared that were 
capable of holding their own with the better class of 
colts. In England the names of Eleanor, Fleur de Lis, 
Beeswing, Alice Hawthorne, Crucifix, Blink Bonny, 
Achievement and Jeannette, will most readily occur in 



96 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



this coniU'Ltion. In Ameiic;!, we have had Beeswing, 
Channer. Sarah Bladden, Ann Watson, Salina, NeHie 
Ransom. Ferida, and a few others, but foremost among 
them all will stand Thora. The dari^jhter of Longfellow 
and Susan Ann, she had both Leamington and Lexing- 
ton blood, and, through her grandam, Roxana, traced 
to Emilius, Priam, Worthless. Whiskey. Tranby, Black- 
lock. Diomed, Florizel and others. In her pedigree 
there were several crosses of Eclipse, Duroc, Diomed, 
Florizel, Messenger and Mambrino. 

Bred by Mr. Henry P. McGrath, Thora was foaled in 
1.S78, and sold as a yearling to Mr. Charles Reed. She 
was a beautiful claret bay, nearly 16 hands high, and 
was one of the most admired horses on the turf in 
her day. She was a stout traveler and had remarkable 
staying qualities, reproducing in this respect the quali- 
ties of such of her ancestors as Sir Archy, Boston, Lex- 
ington, Priam, Whalebone, Waxy and others. As a 
two-year old, her first engagement was for the Juvenile 
Stakes, at Jerome Park, at the Spring Meeting in 1S80. 
She failed, however, even to secure a place, and also ran 
unplaced for a purse and for the Flash Stakes at Saratoga. 
Her first success was for a purse at the Saratoga Meet- 
ing, five furlongs, running the distance in i minute, 4^2 
seconds, and defeating Bonny Lizzie, Midgely, Jewelry, 
Sportsman and others. Her next winning was at the 
Saratoga Second Meeting, when she carried off the Day 
Boat Line Stakes, three-quarters of a mile, in i minute, 
1 7 '4 seconds, defeating Hindoo, Bonny Lizzie, Midgely 
and others. At the Baltimoie Fall Meeting, she won 
the Merchants Stakes, one mile, in i minute, 44)^ 
seconds, defeating Crickmore and Stark, and also won a 
purse at the same meeting, one mile in i minute, 47/2 
seconds. She was now regarded as among the best of 
the two-year olds of 1880. being classed with Spinaway, 
Barrett, Hindoo, Crickmore, Ripple and Springfield. 

Opening the season of 1881 by running unplaced to 
Neufchatel for the Rancocas Handicap, she won a purse 
at three-quarters of a mile, at the Sheepshead Bay Spring 
Meeting, in i minute, 16 seconds, beating Checkmate, 
Blue Lodge, Victim, Greenland, and other good ones. 
At the same meeting she won the Mermaid Stakes in i 
minute, 57 seconds, with astonishing ease, beating 
Spark and Aella. She then was successful (or the Mon- 
mouth Oaks, again defeating Aella and Spark, ij{ miles, 
2 minutes, I4>< seconds. Moving on to Saratoga, she 
ran second to Checkmate for the Excelsior Stakes, but 
left behind her a field that included Parole, Crickmore, 
Ripple and Oden. She succeeded in winning the Ala- 
bama Stakes in i minute, ^()}^ seconds, defeating Bonnie 
Lizzie and Brambaletta, and then had a string of triumphs 
that included the winning of the Clarendon Hotel Stakes, 
the Relief Stakes, and the Baden Baden Handicap at 
Saratoga, the West End Hotel Stakes I't Monmouth 



Park, a handicap sweepstakes at the Jerome Park Fall 
Meeting, and the Pimlico Stakes at the Baltimore Fall 
Meeting. As a two-year old, she ran eleven times and 
won four races, being second twice and unplaced \]ve 
times. As a three-year old, she won eleven out of 
fifteen races, being second in two, third in one, and 
unplaced in one. Her winnings in the two years were 
$18,485. She had no equal on the American turf over 
great distances of ground, and was universally classed 
with such horses as Luke Blackburn, Hindoo and Crick- 
more at all distances. 

From the great army of thoroughbreds that unceasingly 
raced over the turf during the seventies and eighties, it 
is possible to record even the names of only a compara- 
tive few. Some have already been referred to upon 
preceding pages, but scores and hundreds are not less 
deserving of recognition or of having their deeds per- 
petuated. There was Runnymede, daughter of imported 
Billet and Mercedes. His dam was by Melbourne, Jr., 
out of Lady Hadaway, and through her he derived from 
the Melbourne and Birdcatcher families of England, and 
the Boston and Union families of America. Among 
many victories that Runnymede placed to his credit was 
the Tennessee Stakes and the Tidal Stakes in 1883, and 
he defeated Apollo, Macbeth, Bedouin, Turco, and other 
good ones. Buchanan, who won the Kentucky Derby 
in 188;!, was a full brother to Harry Gilniore, being by 
imported Bucdeii out of Mrs. Grigsby, his dam being by 
Wagner and Folly, daughter of imported Yorkshire and 
Fury. Buchanan's winning of the Derby was some- 
what of a surprise, since, in iSSi. he had the discom- 
forting record of running six races without winning one. 

Imported Pizarro was one of the strong cards of Mr. 
Pierre Lorillard's stable in 1882 and 1885. He was by 
Adventurer out of Milliner, his sire coming from Touch- 
stone and Emilius and his dam from Rataplan, the 
Baron, Pocahontas and Birdcatcher. He was bred in 
1880, and, as a weanling, was sold to Mr. Lorillard for 
420 guineas. He proved in time to be one of the best 
horses, either in the Old or in the New World. As a 
two-year old, he made his first appearance in the Surf 
Stakes at Sheepshead Bay, running unplaced to Jacobus, 
and also ran unplaced in the Hopeful Stakes at Mon- 
mouth Park, his second appearance. After that he 
began winning, taking a purse at Monmouth Park, the 
Atlantic Stakes at Monmouth Park, when he defeated 
ten others, three-quarters of a mile, in i minute. [S'/i 
seconds, and the Red Bank Stakes at the same place, the 
same distance and the same time. In subsequent years, 
he won some of the most important fixtures of the 
Eastern turf. 

Above all else an American horse, Pat Malloy had in 
his pedigree crosses of nearly all of the early families 
upon which the American tun was constructed. 



97 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



I'robablv few horses th:it have been identified with the 
turf in the United States have been better or more fully 
bred, or could boast of more royal lineage. His sire was 
the immortal Lexington, and that gave him the crosses 
of Boston, Timoleon, Sir Archy, Sarpedon, Emiiius and 
others. On the side of his dam his blood was none the 
less potent. His dam was Gloriana, daughter of 
American Eclipse and Trifle. Nothing need be said of 
the strength of American Eclipse, whose career is never 
absent from the mind of the student of the American 
turf Through him crosses of Duroc, Diomed, Messen- 
ger and others were the heritage of Pat Malloy. Tritle, 
the dam of Gloriana, was one of the most fiimous race 
mares of her age, a daughter of Sir Charles, who was by 
Sir Archy. Gloriana was bred in 1846 by Mr. John C. 
Guild, of Tennessee, and while not being noted as a 
racer, added to the value of the American turf by her 
services in the stud. 

Pat Malloy, who was bred in the Woodburn Stud, 
was foaled in 186s. As a two-year old he won the 
Young America Stakes, at Nashville, in i minute, 'jo}:^ 
seconds, and in his three-year old form was highly suc- 
cessful, winning a purse at Memphis, Tenn., mile heats, 
best three in five, the time being i minute, 59 seconds, 
2 minutes, 1 second, 2 minutes. 2 seconds, 2 minutes, 4 
seconds, and 2 minutes, byi seconds; the Senate Stakes 
at Memphis, 2 miles, in 4 minutes, 8}{ seconds; a purse 
at Nashville, i]4 miles, in 2 minutes, iS'/i seconds; the 
Southern Hotel Stakes at St. Louis, two-mile heats, the 
time being 3 minutes, 44;^! seconds, 5 minutes. 44:'-4 
seconds, and 3 minutes, ^o^^ seconds; the Chicago 
Stakes at Chicago, mile heats, the time being 1 minute, 
472^ seconds, i minute, 4834^ seconds, and i minute, 49 
seconds; and the Union Stock Yard's Purse at Chicago, 
2}4 miles, in 4 minutes, 4^'i: seconds. In 1S70, he was 
relegated to the stud and there produced Bob Miles, dam 
Dolly Morgan; Charlemagne, dam Alice Buford; Reveler, 
dam Schottische; Pathfinder, dam Amy Farley, and other 
good ones. 

Fellowcraft's principal title to fame will rest securely 
upon his achievement in wrestmg from the immortal 
Lexington the record laurel for the four mile distance, 
when, in 1874, he broke the record from 7 minutes, 19^ 
seconds, to 7 minutes, 19^4 seconds. Bred by Mr. A. 
J. Alexander, of Woodburn, Ky., he was foaled in 1870. 
He was a son of Australian, who was a son of West 



Australian and Emilia. Through the West Australian 
line he traced to Melbourne, Humphrey Clinker, Touch- 
stone, and other great English thoroughbreds. Emilia, 
the dam of his sire, was a daughter of Young Emiiius 
and Persian, Young Emiiius being a son of Emiiius and 
Shoveler, and Persian being a daughter of Whisker 
and Variety. The dam of Fellowcraft transmitted to 
him the blood of Lexington, Boston, Glencoe and Medoc. 
She was the daughter of Lexington, and her dam was 
Florine, daughter of Glencoe and Melody, the latter 
being by Medoc. As a two-year old, Fellowcraft started 
in five races, but was successful in one only. As a 
four-year old, he won three races, a four-mile, in 7 min- 
utes, 43 seconds; a ij4 mile, in 2 minutes, 42 seconds, 
and his famous four-mile against Lexington's time. 
While on the turf he started in twenty-six races, being 
llrst in five, second in four, third in five, and unplaced 
in twelve. After he was retired to the stud, he sired 
several good racers, among them Knight Templar, Blue 
Lodge, My Fellow, Sunrock and Fanny S. He died in 
1897 at the Dixiana Stud, near Lexington, Ky. 

A New York horse that ranked among the very best 
in his time was Alarm, who was by imported Eclipse, 
out of imported Maud, by Stockwell. He was bred by 
Mr. John Hunter, being foaled in 1869. First called 
Flash, he was named Alarm before he appeared on the 
turf in his two-year old form. His debut was in a 
match race for $s.ooo a side against Inverary, in which 
he was the winner. In three other starts the same 
season he was defeated. When he came to the post as 
a three-year old he was in prime condition and went 
through the season without meeting a defeat, although 
he was called upon to compete with the best horses in 
his class. Many of his races were won in a common 
canter. Platina, who had beaten Longfellow, went 
down before him, and he also beat Kingfisher, Fadladeen, 
and other good ones. Great things were expected of 
him in 1873, and a special match was arranged to bring 
him. Kingfisher and Tom Bowling together, but in his 
preliminary woi'k he pulled up lame and was sent to the 
stud. No faster horse ever was on the American turf 
and in the twenty-one years that he was in the stud, from 
1874 until the time of his death, in 1S9S, he became the 
sire of some of the most phenomenal later day thorough- 
breds, including Himyar, Gabriel, Danger, Panique, 
Breeze and Isaquena. 



98 



RACE HORSES PAST AND PRESENT 



Champions Who Have Been Famous in Modern Times — Eoi.us, Preakness, Monitor, 

St. Blaise, Hanover and Potomac— The Great Sprinters, Salvator, 

Tenny, Domino, Requital, Hamburg and Others 



^ N the chapter immediately precedinii wc iiave pre- 
■) 1 sented for the most part an account of some of tlie 
!f great thoroughbreds who were conspicuous in the 
earlier periods of the American turf. The review 
of the pedigrees and performances there outlined is in 
itself measurably a history of the turf of the United 
States for a round century. Moreover, it reveals the 
foundation of the great American thoroughbred families 
and shows the extent to which those early ec]uine kings 
and queens influenced not only the generations in which 
they lived, but also those that have succeeded them. 
Their performances, both upon the turf and in the 
stud, constituted a golden equine age, and the results 
of their breeding have not been surpassed in importance 
at any point in the history of the country and have been 
equaled only in the immediate present. The turf of to- 
day still feels the effect of their achievements and 
looks back with admiration upon them and their 
records, recognizing them as the true founders of its 
greatness. 

In this chapter attention will be principailv given to 
the lives of contemporaneous thoroughbreds. It will be 
seen that these modern champions are not less sturdy nor 
less speedy than those who went before them, but are in 
every way worthy descendants of worthy progenitors. 
The infusion of new blood during the closing part of the 
century is also brought strongly to attention, and the 
effect of these recent importations from England, France 
and Australia can be clearly divined from a consideration 
of the lives of those that have been the result of this con- 
temporaneous movement in breeding. It will also be in- 
teresting to note that, almost without exception, these 
newcomers trace back through innumerable crosses to 
the same parent English stock as the older pioneers. 
Arriving in the New World they have bred here to the 
descendants of Diomed, Glencoe, Sir Archy and other 
founders of the purely American families with notable 
results. 

Rayon d'Or came of the best thoroughbred blood of 
England and France. He was bred by C. Lefevre at the 
Chamant Stud, in France, in 1876. He was a rich, dark red 
chestnut, and gained his name, which means ray of gold, 
from the very handsome appearance of his coat. He 
was absolutely pure in color, with the single exception 
of a roan star on his forehead. Standing it) hands, ?K 



inches high, he was probably the tallest thoroughbred in 
America in his time. He was foaled in 1876 by Flageolet, 
out of Araucaria. His sire was a son of Plutus and La 
Favorita, Plutus being descended from Orlando, Cavatina, 
Planet and Alice Gray, and La Favorita through her par- 
ents, Monarque and Constance, tracing to The Baron, 
Poetess, Gladiator and Lanterne. Araucaria was a 
daughter of Ambrose and Pocahontas, through whom 
Rayon d'Or traced to Touchstone, Glencoe, Camel, 
Priam, Sultan, Trampoline and other great English thor- 
oughbreds. Flageolet was bred by the Count Legrange at 
the IJangu Stud, France, in 1870, and his pedigree com- 
bined the blood of Touchstone, Bay Middleton, Venison 
and Glencoe, deriving from Glencoe, through Darkness, 
who was a winner of the Ascot Stakes. 

Through his dam. La Favorita, Flageolet also had the 
blood of Whalebone, Defence and Catton. He was very 
successful on the turf and even more so in the stud. Be- 
sides Rayon d'Or he got Zut and Beauminer, French 
Derby winners, Versigny, winner of the French Oaks, 
and Ultima, Louvenciennes and Compte Alfred. Arau- 
caria, the dam of Rayon d'Or, was a bay mare bred in 
1862 by the Marquis of Exeter. Her sire, .Ambrose, was 
the trial horse of Stockwell, and in his private running 
had remarkably good record. Araucaria was not suc- 
cessful on the turf, being only one time a winner, but as 
a brood mare she was surpassed by none in her class in 
Europe, transmitting to her progeny all the best qualities 
of the famous Pocahontas and of her ancestors for several 
generations back. Among her most famous get, in addi- 
tion to Rayon d'Or, was Chamant, by Mortemer. Cha- 
mant, who died in i8q8 at the Prussian Royal Stud at 
Graditze. was one of the best race horses of his day and 
a phenomenally successful sire. He raced in England in 
the colors of Count Frederick de le Grange. As a two- 
year old he won both the Middle Park Plate and the 
Dewhurst Plate, and in 1877 won the Two Thousand 
Guineas in a canter. He became lame shortly after this 
race, which prevented him from winning the Derby and 
the St. Leger, as he was far and away the best horse in 
the field for both those events. A few years afterward 
he was purchased by Count Lehndorff for the Prussian 
Government for $20,000, which was considered a small 
price. Before his death his progeny had established 
themselves as among the great race horses of Europe, 



99 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



having won over $1,000,000 in Germany, Austria and 
Hungary. 

Of such distinguished lineage. Rayon d'Or rivaled the 
best of his brothers and sisters in the fame of his accom- 
plishments. As a two-year old he began a notable career 
by u'inning the Levant Stakes at Goodv/ood, and fol- 
lowed this up by carrying off a two-year old sweepstakes 
at Doncaster and the Glearwell and Glasgow Stakes at 
Newmarket. His great successes came to him in his 
three-year old form, when he won the Doncaster. St. 
Leger. the Prince of Wales and the St. James Palace 
Stakes at Ascot, the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, and 
the Great Foal. Select. Champion and Second Great Chal- 
lenge Stakes at Newmarket. For the Derby he ran un- 
placed, and came in third for the Two Thousand Guineas. 
In his four-year old foiin he was five times at the front 
in the six starts that he made, and ran second the other 
time for the Hardwick Stakes, when he conceded the 
winner ten pounds. His victories were the Prix du 
Cadran and the Prix Rainbow at Paris, the Post and the 
Prince of Wales Stakes at Newmarket, and the Rous 
Memorial Stakes at Ascot. Imported in 1882 by the Hon- 
orable W. L. Scott, he was placed in the Algeria Stud at 
Erie. Pa., and achieved marked success as a stallion. 
He was afterward owned by the Honoiable August 
Belmont, and stood for several years in the Nursery Stud. 
His death occurred in i8q6. Among his most famous 
descendants have been Teiiny, Chaos. Banquet. Torso. 
Tea Tray. Rubicon. Don de Oro, Octagon. Souffle and 
Maurice. 

DLiring his seven veais' career on the turf Freeland was 
started sixty times. In thirty races he won bi'ackets, and 
twenty-one were stakes. His record was remarkable 
even in a period when thei'e were many great horses 
running on the American turf. He was one of the most 
notable sons of Longfellow, his dam being Belle Knight, 
by Knightwood. and his second dam Kentucky Belle, by 
Goodwood. He was bred by Mr. F. B. Harper, of Ken- 
tucky, and afterward became the property of Mr. Ed 
Corrigan, in whose colors he raced for six years. As a 
three-year old he won the Phoenix Hotel, the Maiden, the 
Fall City and the Louisville Stakes. In his four-year old 
form he took the Cincinnati Hotel and the Louisville 
Stakes. When he was five years old several important 
events fell to him, including the Distillers', the Dixiana. 
the Merchants', the Turf, the Boulevard, the Excelsior 
and the Columbia Stakes and the Citizens' Plate. Among 
his winnings in other years were the Boulevard, the 
Excelsior, the Champion, the Special and the Mer- 
chants' Stakes and the Morrissey Handicap. His races 
with the great mare Miss Woodford at Monmouth Park, 
in 188s. were classed among the stirring events in the 
racing world of that year. On August 10, he defeated 
Miss Woodford for the Champion Stakes, lyi miles, and 



eight days later defeated her again for the Special Stakes, 
1 14^ miles. The result of these two victories brought 
about another match for $2,soo a side between the two 
horses, with $2,soo added by the Monmouth Park Asso- 
ciation. This time Miss Woodford won by a head. A 
month later the two met again in a sweepstakes for all 
ages, 1 ]i miles. Modesty, Monogram, Richmond and 
Bersan also contesting, and Freeland won in a canter by 
four lengths in 2 minutes. 8 seconds. After his turf 
career was ended he stood on the farm of Mr. George 
Wright, near St. Louis, Mo., where he died in December, 
i8q6. 

Bramble, whose most celebrated get are Ben Brush. 
Clifford, Somnambulist and Little Bramble, was a son of 
imported Bonnie Scotland and Ivy Leaf. His sire, the 
son of lago and Queen Mary, had a pedigree that is given 
on another page and that traced back through many 
crosses to the most aristocratic equine blood of England. 
His dam. Ivy Leaf, was by imported Australian, son of 
West Australian and Emilia. Ivy Leaf's dam being Bay 
Flower, daughter of Lexington and Bay Leaf. Bramble 
was bred by General W. G. Harding at the^Belle Meade 
Stud, and was foaled in 187=,. Beginning his turf career 
in his two-year old form, he was started seven times, 
and won the Young America Stakes at Nashville and the 
Saratoga Stakes at Saratoga, being second twice and 
third twice. He entered upon his three-year old career 
by running for the Withers Stakes at Jerome Park, 
being defeated by Duke of Magenta in i minute. 48 sec- 
onds. During this season he won the Maxwell House 
Stakes at Nashville and the Great American Stallion 
Stakes at Louisville. As a four-year old he achieved a 
wonderful success, starting in twenty races, fifteen of 
which he won. His victories included the Baltimore 
Cup, the Ocean Stakes, the Monmouth Cup. the Saratoga 
Cup and the Brighton Cup. His important victory as a 
five-year old was the winning of the Centennial Stakes 
at Nashville. The following year he was started only 
once, when he ran second to Ferida in a heat race at Bal- 
timore. Retired to the stud, he sired, in addition to his 
sons ali'eady mentioned, Biggonet, Bryson. Brambleton, 
Rambler, Woodruff. Wightman and Jack Murray. 

In Eolus, who was foaled in 1808, and who died in 
1807 at the Ellerslie Stud, in Virginia, was united the 
blood of two great thoroughbred families, that of im 
ported Leamington and the more purely American, rep 
resented by Revenue. The sire of Eolus was imported 
Leamington, and his dam was Fanny Washington, by 
Revenue, out of Sarah Washington. Through his dam 
he had four distinct crosses of Sir Archy, and traced to 
Eclipse and Herod through collateral branches. Revenue, 
who was a son of Trustee and Rosalie Somers. was a 
stallion of singular beauty, symmetrical in form and 
proud in his carriage, and was successful, both on the 
100 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



tiirC and in the stud. He was for a loi\y time tiie great- 
est horse in the stable of that grand old Virginia turfman, 
the Honorable John Minor Botts. The last two years of 
his life were passed at Major Horner's farm. Belle Air. 
near Warrenton. Va. His death occurred in 1868 from 
old age. Sarah Washington, the dam of Fanny Wash- 
ington, was the daughter of Garrison's Zinganee and 
Stella. The Washington family was very distinguished 
in its day. seveial of the greatest horses of the period 
before the Civil War bearing the name. 

Eolus. who was a dark bay with a star in the forehead 
and both hind heels white, stood IS;'4 hands high. He 
was bred by Major Thomas W. Doswell. of the Bulltield 
Stud. Hanoyer Junction, Va. Although put into eai'iy 
training, he was not brought out until he was three years 
old. when he started in six races, of which he won three. 
After an entire year of rest, he came again upon the turf 
as a tu'e-year old. but was only modei'ately successful, 
winning three out of the eight races in which he started. 
The following year he carried off two out of the three 
prizes for which he contested. During his turf career he 
started seventeen times, being first eight times, second 
once, third twice and unplaced six times. His most 
famous victory was at Baltimore in 1874. when he won 
two-mile heats, taking the first heat in 3 minutes. 40 
seconds, and the third heat in ^ minutes. ^6^ seconds, 
which was a record breaker. After he was placed in the 
stud, he got such champions as Hole, Eolist. St. Saviour, 
Knight of Ellerslie. Eurus. Eolian, Hlkwood, Eon. Diablo. 
Russell and Morello. 

First in order of the get of Eolus and War Song. Eole 
had a long and reputable career. Foaled in 1878, he was 
bred by Mr. R. J. Hancock, of Virginia. He came slowly 
into condition, and his form gave so little promise that 
he was not started as a two-year old. The next year he 
made his debut at the Spring Meeting at Jerome Park, 
and was beaten by Saunterer for the Belmont Stakes. 
At Saratoga he beat Getaway, but did not accomplish 
much more until, in the Dixie Stakes at Baltimore, he as- 
tonished everybody by beating Barrett and finishing a 
good second to Crickmore. Afterward, at Jerome Park, 
he defeated Blue Lodge, and during the season added 
other winnings to his credit, so that he closed with a 
record of eight out of nineteen races and over $10,000 in 
stakes and purses. In his four-year old form he won the 
Metropolitan Stakes at Jerome Park and the Jockey Club 
Handicap, 2 miles, in 1 minutes, ^S'/i seconds, which 
stamped him in the most decisive manner as a peifoinier 
of the tlrst class. For the Coney Island Cup he was 
beaten by Hindoo, but after that the Monmouth Cup. the 
Champion Stakes, the Morrissey Stakes and the Autumn 
Cup fell to him, and he succeeded to the place in 
public esteem that the famous Hindoo vacated that 
year after his long and imposing career. He became. 



for the time being, the repre.scntative cup horse of 
Ameiica. 

The blood of the great English family represented by 
imported Bonnie Scotland and that of the far-famed 
American family represented by Lexington came together 
again in Bushwhacker, one of the representative horses 
of the present generation. Bred by the Messrs. Rice & 
McCormack at the Belle Meade Stud in 1874. Bush- 
whacker was a buckskin bay. with a blaze in his face 
and both forelegs and the left hind leg white. His sire 
was Bonnie Scotland and his dam Annie Bush, by Lex- 
ington, out of Banner, the latter being a daughter of 
Albion and Clara Howard. He did not make his debut 
upon the turf until he was thi'ee yeais old, when he ap- 
peared for the first time at the spring meeting in Balti- 
more in 1877. His record for this season was thoroughly 
discouraging, for although he started ten times, he did 
not succeed in winning a single race, but was second 
three times and third twice. The following year he won 
only four out of the thirteen races in which he started, 
being second seven times and third once, his principal 
victories being the Rancocas and the Bowie Stakes. 

His careei' in 1871.) was c]uite as disastrous, foi' he lan 
third and second in two races at Baltimore at the spring 
meeting and then was injured so that he was not able to 
appear again for two years. In the spring of 1881, he 
reappeared at Baltimore, and in the course of that season 
succeeded in winning one out of the nine races in which 
he started, the Morrissey Stakes at Saratoga, when he 
defeated Checkmate, Boulevard and others, being his 
single victory. In 1882. at the autumn meeting of the 
Coney Island Jockey Club, after he had been defeated in 
every race which he had run that season, he carried off 
the Great Long Island stakes, defeating such good per- 
formers as Glenmore. Thora, Eole and Lida Stanhope. 
This event was the more interesting, inasmuch as it was 
the third year of the revival of the old four-mile heats. 
which were such a feature of the American turf genera- 
tions before. The previous winners of this event had 
been Ferida. in 1880. and Glenmore, in 1881. Bush- 
whacker's time for the two heats was 8 minutes. i'/< 
seconds, and 8 minutes, 10 seconds, which was a very 
creditable performance, even when compared with some 
of the old-time great four-mile races, inasmuch as the 
track was heavy and the rain was falling in torrents. 
Later in the same season he won the Bowie Stakes, also 
four-mile heats, over the Pimlico Course at Baltimore. 

In i8c)i, imported St. Blaise was the grand star of the 
Nursery Stud sale, when Mr. Charles Reed astounded 
everybody by paying the magnificent sum of Sioo.ooo 
for him. Nevertheless, as big a price as that may have 
seemed for the wonderful stallion, his performances on 
the turf and his record in the stud seemed to fully justify 
it. In the previous year, i8qo, for example, he was at 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the head of the list of winning sires of the American 
turf. A rich, d:iri< chestnut, with white blaze in the face 
and white upon the hind legs, St. Blaise stood i6 hands, 
y2 inch high. He was bred by Lord Arlington and foaled 
in 1880. His sire was Hermit, by Newminster, out of 
Seclusion, Newminster being a son of Touchstone and 
Beeswing and Seclusion a daughter of Tadmor and Miss 
Selim. The dam of St. Blaise was Fusee, daughter of 
Marsyas and Vesuvienne, her sire being by Orlando, out 
of Malihran, and her dam by Gladiator, out of Venus. 
Among the many crosses which have served to distin- 
guish St. Blaise were those of Sir Hercules, Bay Middle- 
ton, Whalebone, Eclipse, Highflyer, Canary, Partisan, 
Whisker, Waxy, Sultan, Penelope, Emilius, Trumpator, 
Priam, Blacklock, Gohanna, Herod, Regulus, the Godol- 
phin Arabian and the Darley Arabian. 

Hermit, who was a winner of the Derby and other 
gieat prizes, was one of the best stallions known to Eng- 
land in modern times. Fusee also had a long and distin- 
guished career. As a two-year old she won the Chelms- 
ford Nursery Handicap and the Stratton Nursery Handi- 
cap, and ran second for the Nursery Plate at Croyden 
and third for the Abbey Nursery Handicap. She won 
nine out of the eleven races in which she started as a 
three-year old, including the Nursery Cup at Chester, the 
Littlejohn Stakes at Nottingham, the Welter Cup Handi- 
cap at Kingsbury, the Kingsbury Handicap and the 
Queen's Plate at Nottingham, at Newmarket, at Win- 
chester, at Salisbury and at Chelmsford, the distance for 
these last five events being from 2 to V/^ miles. In the 
stud Fusee produced, to Blair Athol, Gobang, winner of 
the Winchester Biennial Stakes. After throwing Friar 
Rush, another good horse, she next produced St. Blaise 
and then Match Girl, by Plebeian, and also Candlemas, 
another full brother to St. Blaise and winner of the Epsom 
Grand Prize, the Zetland Biennial and the Chesterfield 
Cup. 

In his two-year old form St. Blaise was started in six 
races and won four, including a walkover and a dead 
heat, his walkover being the Troy Stakes and his dead 
heat being with Elzevir for the Malcomb Stakes at Good- 
wood. He won the Stockbridge Biennial at the Bibury 
Club meeting and the Newmarket Troy Stakes, and was 
defeated for the Hurstbourne Stakes and the Dewhurst 
Plate at Newmarket. When he was three years old he 
started out by running unplaced for the Two Thousand 
Guineas, that was won by Galliard. Next taken to 
Paris, he ran second to Frontin for the Giand Prix, the 
victor in that event being considered the best three-year 
old in Europe that year. He failed to win the great 
Derby, but walked over for the Stockbridge Biennial and 
the Winchester Biennial Stakes. Imported in i88s, his 
career in the Nursery Stud was phenomenally bril- 
liant. Among his most famous get have been Potomac, 



La Tosca, Calypso, St. Florian, Chesapeake and Clarendon. 

A descendant of West Australian, one of the contem- 
poraneous importations who have brought so much new 
and strong blood to the later development of the Amer- 
ican thoroughbred, the brood mare, Maggie B. B., 
had a record that is in every way worthy of her notable 
origin. On the maternal as well as on the paternal line, 
she came of some of the greatest stock of the Old World. 
Her great-granddam. Myrtle, was a daughter of Mame- 
luke, who stood conspicuous among the famous horses 
of his dav. being a winner of the Derby and second for 
the St. Leger. The dam of Myrtle was Bobadilla, a 
famous race mare, who won the Gold Cup at Ascot and 
the Drawing Room Stakes at the same place in 1828. 
Myrtle was imported to the United States for breeding 
purposes. She was not very prolific and threw only a 
small number of foals. Her produce was generally of 
good repute, however, and her daughter. Magnolia, who 
served long in the stud, became one of the most success- 
ful and most celebrated brood mares that have ever been 
known in connection with the turf in the United States. 
Magnolia's foals included several distinguished horses, 
among them being Kentucky, Gilroy, Victory, Skedaddle, 
Madonna, Magic, Simon Kenton, Princeton and Daniel 
Boone. Her daughter, Madeline, was got by Boston only 
a few months before he died. 

Madeline was not a prolific brood mare, her foals being 
only five in number, Maggie B. B., by Australian, who 
was foaled in 1867. being her last and best. Bred by 
Mr. James B. Clay, Jr., of Kentucky, the colt was named 
after Miss Maggie B. Beck, daughter of United States 
Senator James B. Beck. Her career on the turf as a two- 
year old was limited to seven races, of which she won 
three, being second in the remaining four, her most im- 
portant victory being for the Young America Stakes, i 
mile, in i minute, 4s J^ seconds. At Louisville she led 
Lyttleton and Engineer, being defeated by Lynchburg 
only by a neck, but in the contest for the Young America 
Stakes she defeated Lynchburg, Hamburgh and Enquirer. 
In 1870, although she ran a strong race for the Excelsior 
Stakes, she was beaten by Glenleg and ran second to 
Enc^uirer for the Continental Hotel Stakes at Monmouth 
Park. Between these two failures she won the Sequel 
Stakes at Saratoga, 2 miles, in i minutes, 37^ seconds, 
doing the first mile in 1 minute, 49 seconds, and the sec- 
ond mile in i minute, 48X seconds. In the stud she 
was bred principally to Leamington and Alarm. By 
Leamington she produced the chestnut colt Lord Clive, 
the bay filly Pera, the chestnut colt Magnum Bonum, the 
chestnut filly Jaconet, the chestnut colt Harold, the 
famous Iroquois, the bay filly Francesca and others. By 
Alarm she produced Red and Blue, Panique and others. 
Her fame will forever rest firmly upon the wonderful 
career of her famous son, Iroquois. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Foster, who won the great four-niilu licat race in San 
Francisco in 187b. was a chestnut horse foaled in \Hb-j. 
by Lexington, out of Verona, by importeii Yori<shire. 
the dam of Verona, imported Britannia, being by Muley. 
out of Nancy, by Dici< Andrews. He was bred at Wood- 
burn, Ky.. and sold when a yearling to Mr. 1). Swigert. 
Not long afterward he became the property of Messrs. 
Moore & Coffee, who paid $i,soo for him. When three 
years old he was started for the first time on the turf in 
the Belmont Stakes, in 1S70, running second to King- 
fisher, under adverse conditions. Next he ran third to 
Kinglisher and Telegram for the Travers Stakes at Sara- 
toga, and at the Jerome Park Fall Meeting won the Lom 
bard Stakes, 2 miles, beating Remorseless, Hamburgh and 
Finesse. For the Dinner Party Stakes at Baltimore he 
was a favorite against the field, but only tlnished a good 
third to i'reakness and Eliptic. In his four-year old form 
he won eight out of the twelve races in which he started, 
at various distances from a mile dash up to four-mile 
heats. His last recorded race in the East was in 1872 at 
the Metairie Course. New Orleans, for the club purse, 
when he ran unplaced to Monarchist. He made a season 
in the stud in Tennessee, and then was taken to the 
Pacific Coast, where he was used in the stud and also 
re-entered upon a racing career, winning several events 
at mile heats, two-mile heats and three miles. In the 
California four-mile heat race he was a substitute for 
Wildidle, who broke down in training, and showed that, 
although aged, he still had a great deal of merit left in 
him. 

War Dance enjoys the unique reputation of never hav- 
ing won a single race during his turf career, which, in- 
deed, was limited to a solitary appearance. Nevertheless, 
what he failed to achieve on the turf, he more than made 
up by his service in the stud, being one of the most suc- 
cessful stallions known to the Stud Book in modern days. 
There was no apparent reason why he should not have 
been a great race horse, as well as a great sire. Son of 
Lexington, he belonged to one of the most famous fam- 
ilies of American horses, and his name might well have 
been emblazoned beside those of his noble kinsmen, 
Harry Bassett, Kentucky, Tom Ochiltree, Duke of Ma- 
genta, Asteroid, Pilgrim, Wanderer and others. He was 
foaled in 1861, and was got by Lexington, out of Reel. 
A gray mare bred in 1838 by Mr. J. Jackson, of Alabama, 
Reel was a daughter of imported Glencoe, by Gallopade. 
her dam being by Catton, out of Camillina. Gallopade 
being also the dam of Fandango and Cotillion, by Levia- 
than, and Waltz, Jigg, Quadrille and Hornpipe, by 
Glencoe. Reel was also the dam of Lecomte, Prioress 
and Stark. 

Mr. A. Keene Richards purchased War Dance when 
he was three years old. and his form then gave great 
promise- for his future. The Civil War that was 



raging throughout the South prevented him from being 
brought out on the turf, and a plan was arranged to send 
him to England, where his brother, Starke, had just 
achieved some success. The approach of the Federal 
armies prevented the carrying out of this plan, and War 
Dance, with others from Mr. Richards' farm, were sent 
to Texas for safety. After the war he was brought back 
to Louisiana, where, in 1866, he was entered for a three- 
mile dash at the Crescent Course. The strain of training 
after the long time that he had spent in Texas in idleness 
and without proper care, was too much for him, and 
when he went to the post he was already broken down. 
After this failure he was taken back to Kentucky and 
made his first season there in 1866. He remained in Mr. 
Richards' stud until 1881, when his owner died, and he 
then became the property of Mr. James A. Grinstead. 
He died in April, 1881, only a few months after Mr. 
Richards had passed away. Among his most famous 
get were Sly Dance, Fusilade, Dakota. Auriola, Bullion 
and Sachem. For many years he stood very near the 
head of the list of winning sires. 

Although he did not have a great reputation as a race 
horse, Virgil was still possessed of very decided merit. 
The few performances in which he was engaged showed 
that he inherited the best qualities of his ancestors and 
was capable of good deeds. When he was a three-year 
old. he was started in eight races and won all except 
two of them, and even then he bowed his head only to 
such first-class champions as Monday and Ruthless. He 
was a son of Vandal, by Hymenia. Through Vandal's 
sire, Glencoe, he descended from Sultan. Trampoline, 
Selim, Bacchante and Tramp, and through Vandal's dam 
from Tranby, Blacklock and Trumpator. His dam, 
Hymenia, was by Yorkshire, out of Little Peggy, the 
pedigree of the former leading through St. Nicholas, 
Moss Rose, Emilius, Sea-Mew. Tramp and others back 
to the first equine families of England. Little Peggy 
was by Cripple, oLit of Peggy Stewart, her sire being by 
Medoc, out of Grecian Princess, and her dam by Whip, 
out of Mary Bedford. 

When in training in the spring of 1868, Virgil failed 
and was put in the stud, among his get of that year 
being Girl of the Period, from Nannie Butler. His suc- 
cess was only moderate, however, and his owner, Mr. 
M. H. Sanford, allowed him to pass from his possession 
as a wellnigh worthless piece of property. A few years 
later, however, Mr. Sanford repurchased him. and the 
performances of his get, such as Vagrant. Virginius and 
Vigil, soon established his reputation as a first-class sire, 
a reputation that has increased as the years have gone 
by, and his progeny have added to their victories and 
enriched the records of the racing calendar. Among his 
most celebrated sons have been Hindoo, Minstrel. Vigil, 
Vagrant, Virginius and Carley B. 



103 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Scarcely ranked as tirst-class in his native England, 
imported Billet nevertheless achieved a creditable reputa- 
tion as a race horse, and in this country got several 
meritorious sons and daughters. He was foaled in 1865 
by Voltigeur, out of Calcutta. Through his sire he had 
crosses of Blacklock, Whitelock. Phantom, Mulatto and 
others. His dam was a daughter of Flatcatcher and Miss 
Martin, the former being bv Touchstone, who was by 
Camel, out of Banta. and the latter by St. Martin, out of 
Wagtail, being descended from Actaeon, Galina and 
Whisker. Billet was bred by Mr. James Smith and 
brought out in 1807, winning the Zetland Stakes at York, 
the Egham Stakes at Egham. the Marcham Park Stakes at 
Abingdon, a sweepstakes at Newmarket and a selling 
stakes at Worcester. That was the end of his racing 
career, for he was overworked. In iSbq he was im- 
ported to the United States. His first season in the stud 
was in 1870, and he continued successfully there for 
more than fifteen years. His most famous sons and 
daughters were Eva S., Ballard, Washburn and La France, 
Runnymede and Barnes, out of Mercedes, and Miss 
Woodford, out of Fancy Jane. 

When Glenmore was foaled in 187s there were few 
indications that his future would justify even moderate 
expectation. He was bred by Mr. A. J. Alexander, of 
the Woodburn Stud. His sire was Glen Athol, of whose 
merit as a stallion there was as yet no evidence, while 
his dam. Lotta, although not untried, had never yet been 
successful. Glen Athol had not figured conspicuously 
on the turf, and his ungainly appearance did not seem to 
promise much for his progeny. Glenmore was the first 
of his get, and although trained as a two-year old, did 
not start. In his three-year old form he made his debut 
at Nashville, and was beaten, and also failed in two 
other races in which he started, one at Nashville and 
another at Louisville. He was then sold to Mr. William 
Jennings for $3SO. which was an advance of $17^ over 
the price that his former owner, Mr. Dan Swigert, had 
paid for him as a yearling. The general impression 
among turfmen was that Mr. Swigert had made a very 
good bargain. 

Glenmore's sun was rising, however, for after he 
passed into the hands of his new owner, he won six 
races to offset those that he lost in that season. As 
a four-year old he started by running a dead heat with 
Fortuna at the Louisville Spring Meeting, and then after 
losing five times won a two-mile race at Chicago in 3 
minutes, 37^ seconds, defeating Checkmate, Blossom, 
Edinburgh and Aunt Winnie. During that season he 
won eleven out of the twenty-three races in which he 
started. His most famous victory was for the Bowie 
Stakes at Baltimore, four-mile heats, in which he took 
the second and third heats in 7 minutes, }o}( seconds, 
and 7 minutes, 31 seconds. As a five-year old, he ran 



thirteen races and won six, and the following year won 
two out of six, including the Coney Island Cup at 
Sheepshead Bay, when he defeated Monitor, Parole, 
Luke Blackburn and Uncas in 3 minutes, s8^ seconds. 
In the first five years that he was on the turf, he ran 
altogether eighty-eight races, winning forty-one of them. 
Four of his races were at four-mile heats, of which he 
won two, three being broken heats. His race for the 
Bowie Stakes was the best then on record. 

Tom Bowling was one of the best of the great race 
horses of the seventies, when to be best implied trans- 
cendent merit, for there were many phenomenal 
thoroughbreds then on the American turf. He was 
another of the celebrated sons of Lexington, his dam 
being Lucy Fowler, by imported Albion, and his second 
dam by imported Leviathan. He was bred by Mr. H. 
P. McGrath and foaled in 1870. Trained as a two-year 
old. he started in very promisingly by taking the Thes- 
pian, the August and the Flash Stakes, and running second 
in the Hopeful and the July Stakes. As a three-year old he 
showed a vastly improved form and won brackets seven 
times out of the eight starts that he made, running sec- 
ond in the remaining event, for the Ocean Stakes. He 
defeated Springbok in the Jersey Derby and the Jerome 
Stakes, and also won the Dixie Stakes, the Robins 
Stakes, the Annual Sweepstakes and the Travers Stakes. 

In his four-year old form he started only four times, 
but was not defeated in a single race. His best 
achievement this year, and perhaps the greatest per- 
formance of his life, was winning the Monmouth Cup, 
2j4 miles, in 4 minutes, 42^4^ seconds. He also won the 
Mansion House Stakes and two purse races, one at \}i 
miles and one at ^ miles. After his retirement from the 
turf he spent the remaining years of his life upon Mr. 
McGrath's farm in Kentucky, where he died in 1897. 
Like some other of the sons of Lexington, who were 
noted for their performances on the turf, he was in no- 
wise successful in the stud. He was a bad-tempered 
horse, and his obstinacy made him difficult to manage. 
Although he was one of the worst stai'ters that the turf 
knew in his time, he was thoroughly game, and when 
once off never weakened until the last rod of the race 
had been run. During his career he went to the post 
with the greatest of all the racers of that period, and, 
sooner or later, defeated them all. 

The blood of Leamington and Lexington has united in 
developing some of the most celebrated thoroughbreds 
known to the American turf during the last quarter of a 
century and more, and Henlopen, who was bred by Mr. 
H. P. McGrath in 1880, stands high on the list of those 
who have reflected credit upon their great ancestors. 
The sire of Henlopen was.Aristides, son of Leamington 
and Sarong, the latter being a daughter of Lexington and 
Greek Slave, who was by imported- Glencoe, out of 



104 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



M;uijaivt Huntor. Sus;in Ann. the dam of Henlopen. 
was by Lexington, out of Roxana. the laltur beint; by 
Chostertield, out of Levia. Chesteitielci was by I'riaiii, 
out of Worthless, and Levia was by Tranby. out of 



ton in s minutes, 40^^ seconds and 3 minutes, 4s sec- 
onds; a three mile sweepstake at Lexington in s min- 
utes, =,8yi seconds, and the McGrath Produce Stakes 
at Lexington, mile heats, the time being i minute, 46 



Tolivia. Henlopen was a big, blood-red chestnut, with seconds, 1 minute, 46>4 seconds, and i minute, 49 



blaze in her face, and had many of the characteristics of 
appearance that distinguished Thora. So great promise 
did she give as a yearling that she was sold for $2,000. 
Her first appearance as a two-year old was at the Balti- 
more meeting, when she won the Clabaugh Memorial 
Stakes. ^2 mile, beating eight others, in Si seconds. In 
that and subsequent seasons she was very successful, 
being entered in all the great events of the period and 
winning manv of them. 

Leonatus, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1883, was 
a son of Longfellow, out of Semper Felix, by imported 
l'h;eton. His second dam was Crucifix, by Lexington; 
his third dam Lightsome, by Glencoe; his fourth dam 
Levity, by imported Trustee; his fifth dam, by imported 
Tranby, was also the dam of Vandal. His pedigree 
combined crosses of Leamington. Lexington and Phitton, 
with a double Glencoe cross through Pocahontas and 
Lightsome. Semper Felix, his dam. was bred in 1871. 



seconds. While in training for the season of 1874 
he broke down and went to the stud at the Walnut 
Hill Farm, where he died in 188^. Among his mos, 
celebrated get were Wallenstein, Lida Stanhope. Brake- 
speare. Jennie V.. Sir Hugh. Abbotsford, Nimblefoott 
Kinkead and Talisman. His son. Wallenstein, secured a 
great reputation as a two-year old on the turf of Amer- 
ica, and afterward going to Fngland, established himself 
in high rank theie, being ultimately considered one of 
the best of the aged class. 

By many competent JLidges imported Mortemer. who 
died in i8qa. at the age of twenty-seven, was regarded 
as the best race horse that was ever brought across the 
Atlantic to enrich the blood of the American thorough- 
bred. Admiral Rous, than whom there has been no 
more competent judge in this generation, said of him 
when he was racing in England that he was " the best 
horse in the world from 6 furlongs up to 2^ miles." It 



but never was known upon the turf. In 1883, in his is perhaps difficult to fix beyond c]uestion the positive 

three-year old form, Leonatus ran second to Cardinal rank of any particular horse in comparison with all his 

McCloskey for the Maiden Stakes at Louisville, beating rivals, and a sweeping, unqualified statement that one is 

twelve others, in 1 minute, 22 seconds. His perform- in every respect the best may admit of some reasonable 

ance was so creditable and his appearance so promising doubt, even though it comes from such high source as 

that he was sold to Messrs. Chinn & Morgan for Is.ooo, Admiral Rous. At the same time, there is no doubt that 

and was considered one of the most likely candidates for Mortemer was a horse of the highest rank, and, on the 

the Derby. In the betting he stood 8 to i and afterward whole, had no superiors and probably few equals. He 

4 to I, holding rank even with Ascender as favorite. He was bred by Count Frederick de la Grange at the Dangu 

ran the distance in 2 minutes, 43 seconds, which, in Stud, in France, and possessed remarkable speed and 



comparison with that of other winners of the Derby, 
was not at all creditable, being, with one exception, that 
of Riley, in 1890, the slowest time that has ever been 
made for that event. 

In Waverlv, who was foaled in 1870, two strains of 
latter-day English blood were united. His sire was im- 
ported Australian, son of West Australian and Emilia, 
and his dam was Cicily Jopson, daughter of Weatherbit 
and Cestria. He was a rich brown horse, i =; hands. 1 
inches high, and well built. His dam. Cicily Jopson, 
was bred in England, in i8so, by Mr. John Osborne, and 
imported to the United States as a yeariing. Coming to 
this country just before the opening of the Civil War, 
she never appeared upon the course, but immediately 



endurance. As a two-year old he won two races, and 
the following year was successful in four. When he 
was taken to England, that year, his work was less sat- 
isfactory, for although he lan four races there, the best 
that he could do was to be second once and third once. 
In his four-year old form he began to give better indica- 
tion of his capacity, winning nine out of eighteen races 
in which he started, at all distances and all weights, 
being second seven times, third once and unplaced once. 
When he was tive years old he did even better, win- 
ning five races out of the six that he ran on the Conti- 
nent, and the only race in which he started in England, 
that for the Stockbridge Cup. The following year he 
was seen only on the English courses, where he won the 



became a brood mare. Through her sire. Weatheibit. she Ascot Gold Cup and a sweepstakes at Newmarket, being 



was descended from Sheet Anchor and Miss Letty, and 
by her dam, Cestria. went back to Faugh-a-Ballagh, 
Waverly thus having a strain of the blood that was made 
famous by Leamington. As a three-year old Waverly 
was successful in three out of six starts, was once second 



third once and second once. He then had a reputation 
that extended all over Europe, and during the Franco- 
Prussian War the Prussians laid special plans to capture 
him, but were frustrated in their attempts by his owner 
having him smuggled across the Channel to England. 



and twice unplaced. He won two-mile heats at Lexing- After he entered the stud he got several notable horses, 

105 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

chief among them being Chamant, out of Araucaria, and Broeck. entered upon his turf career in 1874. His first 

a half-brother to Rayon d'Or. He was brought to the appearance was at Lexington, Ky., when he ran second 

United States by Mr. Pierre Loriilard and placed in the to Leona in a half-mile sweepstakes for two-year olds. 

Rancocas Stud. Among his earlier get were Wanda, His successive ventures were not less promising, for 

Exile, Chimera, Unrest, Katrina, Heva and Bahama, and although he ran unplaced to Meco for the Juvenile Stakes 

the brood mares that are descended from him have exer- at Jerome Park, unplaced to Caroline for the Hopeful 

cised a valuable inlluence that it is believed will be per- Stakes at Long Branch, and unplaced to Willie Burke for 

manent. the Saratoga Stakes in July, he was second to Sweet 

Equally distinguished by his pedigree, his performances Lips for the Thespian Stakes at the Second Saratoga 
and his get. Himvar occupies an important position in Meeting in August, won a one-mile race in i minute, 
the tlioroughbred history of America in this generation. 46 J^ seconds, and at the Jerome Park Fall Meeting in 
His sire was Alarm by Eclipse, out of Maud. Through October won a purse at five furlongs in i minute, 4}4 
Eclipse, who was a son of Orlando and Gaze, he went seconds, beating Babylon, Scramble, Holbrook and 
back to Touchstone, Vulture, Bay Middleton and Fly- others. After running second to James A. in a three- 
catcher and other famous English thoroughbreds, while quarters of a mile brush, he closed the season by win- 
through Maud he traced to Stockwell, The Baron, Poca- ning a purse for two-year olds, i mile distance, in i 
hontas. The Countess of Albemarle and otheis. His minute. 44^4 seconds, beating Joe Cerns. Aniella and 
dam was Hira, daughter of Lexington and Hegira, Lex- Holbrook. 

ington giving him the blood of Boston, Timoleon, Sarpe- During the following season he ran nine times. His 

don, Sir Archy and imported Diomed, while through first winning event was the inaugural Kentucky Derby at 

Hegira, the daughter of Ambassador and Flight, he was Louisville, in May, when he beat Ten Broeck, Volcano, 

descended from Plenipotentiary, Jennie Miles, Leviathan Verdegris, Bob Woolley and other good ones. Next, at 

and others. Both his dam and his grandam were good Jerome Park, in June, he captured the Withers Stakes, i 

race horses, the latter having a record of 2 miles in 3 mile, in i minute, 4s3<| seconds, with Rhadamanthus 

minutes, )4}{ seconds. His great-grandam. Flight, was second and Ozark third. The Jerome Stakes at Jerome 

the dam of Ohver, who won three mile heats in s Park, in October, 2 miles, fell to him in ^ minutes, 4? 

minutes, 3814^ seconds, and s minutes, 38^!^ seconds. seconds, with Calvin second, Joe Cerns third and Tom 

Foaled in 187s, Himyar started as a two-year old by Ochiltree and others unplaced. He closed the season by 

winning the Colt Stakes at Lexington in 1 minute, ib^ winning the Breckenridge Stakes at Baltimore in October, 

seconds; the Colt and Filly Stakes at the same place in 2 miles, in 3 minutes, ^b}{ seconds, beating Viator, Tom 

I minute, 44^^ seconds, and the Belle Meade Stakes at Ochiltree, Joe Cerns and Bay Final. In his four-year old 

Louisville, Ky., in i minute, 16 14; seconds. In 1878, he form, in 1876, his only appearance was at Lexington, 

won the Belle Meade Stakes at Nashville, Tenn., in 2 where he ran two races. The first was for 2>^ miles, 

minutes, 43 seconds; the Phccnix Hotel Stakes at Lex- in which he conquered Ten Broeck, after a fierce strug- 

ington, in 3 minutes, 22)4 seconds, and the January gle, in 3 minutes, 4S>^ seconds. His second race was 

Stakes at St. Louis, mile heats, in i minute. 42 ^^ sec- for a purse, 2j^ miles, which he won in 4 minutes, 27>4 

onds, and 1 minute, 43)4 seconds. In 1879, he won a i seconds. Both these races were record-breaking per- 

mile race at Lexington in i minute, ^\}i seconds, a i formances. As a two-year old he started nine times and 

mile and 1 furlong sweepstakes at Louisville in 1 minute, won three times; as a three-year old he won five out of 

56 seconds, and a 2 mile race at Louisville in ^ minutes, the nine races in which he entered, and won both of his 

3S seconds. He put four events to his credit in 1880— a four-year old events, making a total of ten winnings out 

mile heat race in i minute, 42J4 seconds, and 1 min- of the twenty which he attempted, 

ute, 44 >4 seconds; the Merchant Stakes at Louisville in Prominent position in the annals of the turf of this 

I minute, si^ seconds; the Turf Stakes at Louisville in generation must be accorded to Buckden, who was im- 

I minute, '-,■]}{ seconds, and a race of i mile and i ported from England by Messrs. Hunter & Travers in 

furlong at Louisville in 1 minute, S4>M seconds. After 1871. He was bred in England in i86q by Captain F. 

he was retired to the stud, he got many good racers, Thompson. His sire was Lord Clifden, a St. Leger win- 

among them being those phenomenal ones. Domino and ner, and his dam was Consequence by Bay Middleton, 

Correction. his second dam Result by Mulatto, and his third dam 

Aristides, the first winner of the Kentucky Derby, in Problem by Euclid. His pedigree combined crosses of 

1875, was for a long time regarded as one of the fore- Touchstone, Melbourne, Sultan, Catton and Emilius. 

mo.st competitors of Ten Broeck, and in the several races When he came to this country he was a fine two-year 

in which they contended against each other, first one old and presented a distinguished appearance. HisUirf 

and then the other was successful. Aristides, like Ten career began at Monmouth Park in July, 1871, when he 

106 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



nin second to Malita for the Hopeful Stakes, leaving 
behind him sucii good ones as Hubbard, Experience 
Oaks and others. That was his only appearance 
during that season, for he fell off in tiaining and 
was rested. In 1872, at Jerome Park, he- ran 
unplaced to Ortolan in the Fordham Handicap, but 
in a nine furlongs dash beat Brennus, Business, Girl of 
the Period and Mimi. At Saratoga he ran a dead heat 
with Grev Planet, i>^ miles, leaving Jury and Piedmont 
behind. 

Then he ran unplaced to Allie Hunt in a selling race; 
second to Experience Oaks, beating Grey Planet. Mimi 
and others; second to Hubbard, beating Nevada, and 
afterward, at Jerome Park, unplaced to Sue Ryder, in a 
dash of 1 1^ miles. At the Baltimore meeting he beat Sue 
Ryder,Nevada, Victoria, Wheatly and Teetotal, in i minute, 
44}^ seconds for i mile distance, and then ran unplaced 
to Nevada in a free handicap and second to Joe Daniels, 
mile heats. As a four-year old, in 1873, he ran third to 
Business in the Peyton Stakes at Baltimore, and then 
won a consolation race, in which he beat Artist, John 
Boulger and Sanford at 1 ^ miles. After running un- 
placed in the Fordham Handicap that was won by Mate, 
second to Springbok, mile heats, and second to Stock- 
wood, in a mile and a quarter handicap, he won the 
Utica Handicap, beating Joe Daniels, King Henry and 
The Mooi', and closed his turf career in 1874 by running 
second to Fadladeen in a free handicap at Jerome Park. 
When he broke down and was retired from the tuif, in 
187^, he became an inmate of the Magnolia Stud and 
succeeded Daniel Boone at the head of that establish- 
ment. Among his get were Bend Or out of Kate 
Walker. Kimball out of Meta H., Mendelssohn out of 
Metella. Ascender out of Ascension, and Babcock out 
of Ethel Sprague. He also sired the first winner of the 
great Omnibus Stakes at Monmouth Park. He died at 
the Magnolia Stud in Danville, Ky., in 1882. 

Great Tom, a beautiful golden chestnut with a narrow 
blaze and both hind legs white, was bred by Lord Fal- 
mouth in England, in 1873. His sire was King Tom and 
his dam was Woodcraft by Voltigeur. He was full 
brother to Kingcraft, the winner of the English Derby, 
in 1870. He was a horse of great size, standing 16 
hands, 2 inches high, but was withal graceful and full 
of style. In his only race as a two-year old he was 
unplaced for the Boscawen Stakes at Newmarket. In 
his three-year old form he secured only two out of the 
nine races that he attempted, winning the Doncaster 
Stakes, when he beat Coltness and Morning Star and 
dividing the St. James Palace Stakes with Glacis. For the 
Piince of Wales Stakes he ran second to Petrarch, and 
for the Newmarket Derby third to Skylark. In his four- 
year old form he ran six races, being at the head in one, 
second twice and third twice. For the first race ever 



run for the Great Champion Stake he was third to Spring- 
field and Silvio. 

In 1878, he was imported to the United States and 
placed in the stud, where he achieved exceptional suc- 
cess. He was the sire of General Harding, one of the 
famous two-year olds of this generation. His son 
Thackeray was another of his best get. Through his 
sire he had some of the best equine blood in the 
world. King Tom being by Harkaway out of Poca- 
hontas, and being himself the sire of such cracks as 
Phreton, King Ernest and King Ban, as well as Great 
Tom. In the male line King Tom traced to Economist, 
Whisker and others, and on the maternal line direct to 
Glencoe, Sultan, Trampoline, Muley and others. Through 
his dam Woodcraft Great Tom traced to Voltair, Veni- 
son. Blacklock Mulatto, Partisan and others. He was 
also directly descended from the immortal Mandane, 
who was the dam of Lottery. Manuella and Altisidora. 

Famous alike on the turf and in the stud, the long and 
creditable career of Hindoo has given that stallion a high 
place in the American Stud Book. A bay colt, 16 hands 
high, he was bred by Mr. Daniel Swigert. His sire was 
Virgil, by Vandal and Hvmenia. and through him he 
traced to Glencoe, Yorkshire and others. His dam was 
Florence, daughter of Lexington and Weatherwitch. the 
latter being by Weatherbit. In his two-year old form he 
started out in the most brilliant manner. His engage- 
ments were on the courses of the South and West, and 
there he won seven races before he met with a reverse. 
Then he lost two events and was withdrawn from the 
turf for the rest of the season, having established his 
reputation as one of the greatest two-year olds of his 
generation. 

His successes were the Colt and Filly Stakes at the 
Lexington Spring Meeting, ^ of a mile in 1 minute. 
17^ seconds; the Alexander Stakes at the Louisville 
Spring Meeting, J^ mile in 50 seconds; the Tennessee 
Stakes at the same meeting, }i of a mile in i minute, 16 
seconds; the Juvenile Stakes at the St. Louis Spring 
Meeting, ^ of a mile in i minute, i';}{ seconds; the 
Jockey Club Stakes at the same meeting, i mile in i 
minute, 44 seconds, and the Criterion Stakes at Chicago, 
% of a mile, in i minute, i s seconds. At Chicago he 
ran third for the Hotel Stakes and second for the Day 
Boat Lake Stakes. In 1881, he began by winning the 
Blue Ribbon Stakes at the Lexington Spring Meeting, 
ij4 miles, in 2 minutes. 18 seconds, and then carried off 
the Kentucky Derby at Louisville in 2 minutes, io3+ sec- 
onds, and the Clark Stakes, i }( miles, at the same meet- 
ing, in 2 minutes, \o^i seconds. His defeat of Eole for 
the Coney Island Cup. in 1883, was his last appearance 
upon the turf. After that event a special match 
between the two champions was arranged, but before 
it could come off ' Hindoo went amiss and was 



107 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



retiiL'd to the comfort of the stud, which he had well 
earned. 

A son of Hindoo, and also the sire of Hamburg, Han- 
over has had an unexampled career. Bourbon Bell, his 
dam. was out of Ella 1)., by Bonnie Scotland. The pedigree 
of Bonnie Scotland, through lago. Queen Mary, Don lohn, 
Gladiator and others, has been already given on another 
page of this volume. Ella 0. was a daughter of Vandal 
by imported Glencoe, and her dam. Falcon, was by 
Woodpecker out of Ophelia. Bred in 1884, Hanover, 
in his two-year old form, carried off the Hopeful, the July 
and the Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park. The follow- 
ing year, as a three-year old, he started in twenty-seven 
races, of which he won twenty, his principal victories 
being the Brookdale Handicap and the Brooklyn Derby of 
the Brooklyn Jockey Club, the Withers and the Belmont 
Stakes at Jerome Park, the Swift, the Tidal, the Spend- 
thrift and the Emporium Stakes, and the Coney Island 
Derby, of the Coney Island lockey Club, and the Loril- 
lard. the Stockton, the Barnegat and the Stevens Stakes 
at Monmouth Park. 

He showed phenomenal speed and endurance, and was 
so far superior to others in his class that he practically 
carried everything before him. One of his best races 
was the winning of the Emporium at Sheepshead Bay, 
when, carrying 128 pounds, he ran i>2 miles in 2 min- 
utes, ^s3<+ seconds, defeating Dunboyne, Oneko. Stock- 
ton and others. Going stale after he had taken fourteen 
races, he lost the Raritan Stakes at Monmouth Park, 
being defeated by Laggai'd on a heavy track. After that he 
won the Champion, the United States Hotel, the Second 
Special, the Breckenridge and the Dixie Stakes. He con- 
tinued to be a great winner as long as he was on the turf, 
and after he was placed in the stud got some of the best 
race horses of the present day. In 1894, the record of his 
progeny led that of all other sires. Thirty-two of his 
get started in three hundred and forty-eight races, being 
first in eighty, second in fifty-two, third in forty-two, 
and unplaced in one hundred and forty-seven. The 
largest winners were Handsome, The Commoner, Hand- 
spun. Urania and Hessie. In 1897, he again headed the 
list of winning stallions, chief among his get being the 
great Hamburg. 

Monitor was bred at the Preakness Stud by Mr. M. H. 
Sanford in 1876, and was for a long time one of the 
most reliable horses in the stable of Mr. George L. Loril- 
lard. He was a son of imported Glenelg out of Minx, 
who was by Lexington out of Levity by imported 
Trustee, and was also a full sister to Monarchist and 
Sultana. He signalized his debut upon the turf as a two- 
year old by winning at Monmouth Park the first race in 
which he started. After running second to Harold for 
the July Stakes, he won again at Saratoga, but meeting 
with an accident was not seen again that season. As a 



three-year old he won the Excelsior Stakes at Saratoga, 
beating Bramble, the Beach Stakes at Coney Island, and 
the Jerome Stakes, defeating Spendthrift, who was 
regarded as one of the greatest horses of that year. 
Later on. for the Dixie Stakes at Baltimore, he beat Lord 
Murphy, the Kentucky Derby winner, who had been 
brought East for the special purpose of subduing him. 
As a four-year old he became a cup winner, taking the 
Coney Island Cup from Uncas and also the Baltimore 
Cup and the Jerome Park Cup. Uncas. however, de- 
feated him for the Westchester Cup. but before the 
season was through he won, in addition to cup events, 
the Elberon Handicap, the Pimlico Stakes and the Bowie 
Stakes, the latter at four-mile heats. 

In his five-year old form he again placed the Baltimore 
Cup to his credit, and also added to his triumphs the 
Monmouth Cup, the Grand National Handicap, the Long 
Branch Handicap and the Navesink Handicap. When 
he was seven years old. in iSS;. he won the Westchester 
Cup, the Long Branch Handicap, the Shrewsbury Handi- 
cap and the Champion Stakes, and ran third to Eole and 
George Kinney for the Monmouth Stakes, with Iroquois 
behind him. In 1884, he started in twenty races, win- 
ning several of them, in one of which he defeated Gen- 
eral Monroe, the Suburban winner of that year. His last 
race was in a handicap at Monmouth Park, in 188s. 
when he ran unplaced to Eiiclid. During his career he 
stai'ted in one hundred and seventeen races, of which he 
won forty-two. being second in thirtv-eight and third in 
nineteen, his total winnings amounting to$6i,iso. He 
had a popular fame that was second to no horse in his 
generation. After the close of his turf career he was 
retired to The Locusts, near Eatontown, N. J., where he 
died in 189^. 

Strains of the great Lexington and of Glencoe gave to 
Uncas pre-eminence on the turf and in the stud. His 
sire was Lexington and his dam Coral by Vandal, who 
was by Glencoe. His granddam was imported Cairn- 
gorme by Cotherstone, a son of Touchstone, and a win- 
ner of the Derby and the Two Thousand Guineas. In 
his two-year old form Uncas started only three times. 
He won the Kentucky Stakes, defeating Harold, Idler, 
Dan Sparling and others, and ran second in the Saratoga 
and the Nursery Stakes. He was one of the main 
dependences of Mr. Pierre Lorillard's stable in that gen- 
tleman's first venture upon the English turf, but was a 
rank failure there, running unplaced for the Two Thou- 
sand Guineas, the only race in which he was started. 
After he was returned to this country he won five out of 
the fifteen races in which he went to the post as a four- 
year old. among them being the Westchester Cup. when 
he defeated Ferida, Monitor and others. In six races he 
was second, and only once failed to secure place. 

So many noble race horses have come upon the turf diir- 



108 



THE AAIKRICAN TURF 



in.U tlu' lasl two decades of the century that it is almost 
a herculean task to keep track of them. Where there 
were scores who distiniruisiied thcniselves in the olden 
times, there are now hundreds who struggle with each 
other for fame and whose names crowd the Stud Book 
and the racing calendar. They have won rank in turf 
annals eqLial to the best that have preceded them, and in 
the glory of their achievements must be placed in the 
same class as the most famous of those who adorned the 
race track a half century and more ago. Equally entitled 
to historical recognition along with such champions as 
Boston, Fashion, Lexington and others who made the 
early period of the American turf so glorious, their num- 
bers alone may operate to some extent to deprive them 
of that fair consideration to which they are individually 
entitled by reason of their work. However brilliant their 
careers, it is almost impossible that they should not suffer 
from being part of a large army of equally good ones. 
Where many are of like distinction, the fame of a single 
one may not shine so brightly as in the days when a few 
held the entire front rank for themselves. 

Nevertheless, the racing worid will cherish quite as 
fondly in remembrance the peerless youngsters of to-day 
as it has long held the memory of their ancestors, if 
briefer consideration must be given to them by reason of 
the large numbers who equally demand attention, the 
merest record of their notable careers will be sufficient to 
embalm them forever in the memories of all lovers 
of the tuif and to give them a permanent place in 
turf annals. Who can forget Lamplighter, who stood 
at the head of the Rancocas Stable in i8q^? He was 



In iSg^, he was a leading favorite for the Brooklyn Handi- 
cap, but was only able to run a good second to Diablo. 
The same year he won the Standard Stakes, the Maturity 
Handicap, the Fall Stakes and the Labor Day Stakes. 

A good all-around horse that came out of the Nurs- 
ery Stud was Badge, who was foaled in i88s. His 
sire was imported The 111 Used, and his dam Baroness 
by Kentucky, the latter being by Lexington and out of 
Magnolia, by imported Glencoe. His second dam was 
Lady Blessington by imported Fclipse. and his third 
dam Philo by Mariner. Badge was a horse of unusual 
good speed, fine action and extraordinary endurance. 
He was a hard worker, and more reliable than many of 
his rivals who had a moie shining reputation. As a 
two-year old he won the Autumn Selling Stakes at 
Coney Island and other important events, beating such 
all-aged sprinters as Kingston, Cyclops and others, and 
winning nine out of his twenty-one starts. As a three- 
year old he was started twenty-nine times and won fif- 
teen races. His record in the West was extraordinarily 
successful, and he swept the board there. In the East 
he won the Pali.sade Stakes, the Cape May Handicap, the 
Katonah Handicap and others. Although he was a 
favorite for the Suburban of i88q. he failed even to 
secure a place. His winnings that year, which were 
twelve out of twenty-nine starts, included the Merchants 
Handicap and the Kentucky Handicap at Louisville, the 
Mid-summer Handicap and the Rahway Handicap at Mon- 
mouth Park and the Racing Stakes at Coney Island. In 
i8qo, he ran second to Castaway 11. for the Brooklyn 
Handicap, and that year won thirteen out of thirty-six 



the son of Spendthrift and out of imported Torch- starts, while in the ensuing year he started thirtv-two 



light, the sire of Spendthrift being Australian. The 
dam of Spendthrift was .(^rolite by Lexington, out of 
Florine by Glencoe. Through his dam. Torchlight, 
Lamplighter traced to other noted families. His grand- 
sire was Speculum, son of Vedette by Voltiguer, the 



times and won twelve times. After that he was pur- 
chased by Mr. August Belmont and became again an in- 
mate of the Nursery Stud. 

Ramapo. who won the Suburban in 18174, was by Run- 
nyemede (or Pontaic) out of Annie F. Through Pontiac, he 
dam of Speculum being Doralice by Alarm (or Orlando) had in his pedigree crosses of Beadsman, Salamanco, Ad- 
out of Preserve. Lamplighter's grandam on the mater- venturer, Weatherbit, Newminster, Rataplan and others, 
nal side was Midnight by King Tom out of Stariight. Through his dam, Annie F.. he traced to the Lexington, 

Lamplighter did not display much brilliancy in his Australian and Revenue families. He was bred by Mr. J. 
career as a two-year old. In one of his races at Jerome O. Conner, in the Ramapo Mountains, Newjersey, whence 
Park, however, he electrified the crowd by a grand rush his name. As a two-year old he became the property of 
through the stretch, coming from at least six lengths Messrs. Gideon & Daly, and that year won the Cham- 



behind the last horse and winning the race. As a four- 
year old he began his woik bv running third in the Su- 
burban. During that season, he started in sixteen races 
and won ten, inckidinof a walkover at Morris Park. Pur- 



pagne and the Dunmow Stakes at Morris Park. As a 
three-year old he started twenty-four times, winning 
nine races and being second in nine, his earnings 
amounting to $28,07^. His victory in the Omnibus 



chased by Mr. Pierre Lorillard for $w.ooo, he became a Stakes at Monmouth Park was his most important feat 
member of the Rancocas Stable and then won seven and that year. 



lost three races. His race for the Bridge Handicap was 
one of the best ever seen, as he carried 127 pounds and 
ran completely away from all his opponents, covering 
the \y2 miles in the fast time of 2 minutes, }^\ seconds. 



Among the sons of imported Billet few were held in 
higher esteem or were more deserving of the fame that 
came to them than Sir Dixon, who was foaled in i88s. 
Through his sire, who was by Voltiguer out of Calcutta, 



109 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



he w;is descended from Blacklock, Flycatcher and Touch- 
stone, and had several crosses of Herod. His dam was 
Jaconet, daughter of imported Leamington and Maggie 
B. B. Jaconet was full sister to Iroquois, and traced to 
imported Myrtle and the Layton Barb mare. The fourth 
dam of Sir Dixon was Magnolia by Glencoe, one of the 
best producing mares of her generation. Sir Dixon was 
bred at the Runnymede Stud, and ran in the colors of 
Mr. G. B. Morris and afterward in the stable of Dwyer 
Brothers. As a two-year old he won the Camden, the 
Select and the Flatbush Stakes, defeating for the latter 
Tea-Tray, Raceland and others, in i minute, 29 seconds. 
In his three-year old form he defeated Raceland. Prince 
Royal, Tea-Tray, Los Angeles and others, winning the 
Withers, the Belmont, the Lorillard and the Travers 
Stakes. 

Onondaga, son of Leamington and Susan Beane, was 
confined to his two-year old form as a race horse. 
He started in nine races, of which he won four, in- 
cluding the Juvenile, the July and the Kentucky Stakes, 
and was then retired. He was a product of the 
Erdenheim Stud, and was foaled in 1879. In the 
stud he was remarkably successful, his get coming 
to the front early in their careers and taking rank among 
horses of the first class. For several seasons he stood 
near the top of the list of winning sires. Among the 
most celebrated of his get have been Oregon, Yum Yum, 
Once Again, Onward, Ambulance and Outlook. 

Hornpipe who won the ninth renewal of the Brooklyn 
Handicap in 189s, defeated a field of heavily backed favor- 
ites, including Ramapo and Dr. Rice. His victory was 
well deserved, for he was in good form and made a good 
running. Hornpipe belonged to the stable of the Messrs. 
Keene, and was then a good four-year old. He was 
foaled in 1891. the son of imported Mr. Pickwick and 
Round Dance. Mr. Pickwick was by Hermit, out of 
Tomato, the Hermit lineage tracing to Newminster, 
Touchstone, Tadmor and others, while Tomato, by King 
Tom and Mince Meat, was descended from Harkaway, 
Pocahontas and Sweetmeat. Through his dam, Round 
Dance, Hornpipe had distinctively American blood, his 
grandsire, War Dance, having the Lexington, Boston and 
Glencoe crosses, while his grandam, Sue Doirity, traced 
to Glencoe on the maternal line and to Irish Birdcatcher 
on the paternal line. 

One of the best daughters of Hanover was Handspun, 
who was out of Spinaway, daughter of Leamington, and 
Megara, the latter being by Eclipse by Orlando, while 
her dam was Ulrica by Lexington out of imported 
Emilia. Foaled in 1892, Handspun was bred at the 
McGrathiana Stud, in Kentucky, and sold as a yearling 
for l^i.^oo. She made her debut upon the turf as a two- 
year old by winning a purse race, at Memphis, and fol- 
lowed this up by winning the Lassie Stakes at the same 



meeting, and the Thora Stakes, J4 mile, in 48^ seconds. 
For the Pepper Stakes at Lexington, 4^^ furlongs, she 
ran a dead heat with Lollie Easton by Bishop out of 
Dublin Belle. Spinaway, the dam of Handspun, was 
one of the best two-year old fillies of 1880, winning 
seven out of the nine races in which she started and 
coming in second in the remaining two. She won the 
Juvenile Stakes at Jerome Park, the Foam and the Surf 
Stakes at Sheepshead Bay. the Bouquet and the Chestnut 
Hill Stakes and the Hopeful and July Stakes at Monmouth 
Park. 

Lazzarone, who was defeated in the Brooklyn Handi- 
cap of 1891 by Hoinpipe, more than retrieved himself a 
month later by winning the Suburban. He was then a 
four-year old, having been bred in 1891, and in his earlier 
years raced principally in the West in the colors of 
Messrs. Leigh & Rose. In 1894, he was sold and be- 
came the property of Messrs. F. D. & J. A. Beard, of the 
Erie Stable, of Brooklyn. He was a son of Spendthrift 
by Australian out of Aerolite, thus being bred on paternal 
lines to Melbourne, Matchem and Young Emilius of 
modern English thoroughbreds, and to the purely Amer- 
ican lines of Lexington, Boston and Glencoe. Lazzarone 
was out of Spinawav. one of the speediest mares that ever 
ran. She was the daughter of imported Leamington and 
Megara. thus having crosses of Sir Hercules. Eclipse and 
Lexington in her pedigree. She was the dam of several 
good horses, among them Spinalong, Handspun and 
Montauk. 

Raceland, one of the best known members of Mr. 
August Belmont's stable, was by imported Billet out 
of Calomel, and was foaled in i88s. As a yearling he 
gave no promise of future greatness and was sold at a 
small price to Bookmaker Ullmaii. His appearances 
were deceptive, however, for when he came into his 
two-year old form he took his place along with the best 
horses of that year, winning nine races out of the twelve 
in which he started, being second in one and unplaced in 
two. His victories included the Quickstep Stakes at Chi- 
cago, the Great Eastern Handicap at Coney Island and the 
Arlington and the Capitol Stakes at Washington, defeat- 
ing such good horses as Los Angeles. Sir Dixon, Badge, 
George Oyster and others. After 1S87, he raced for the 
stable of Mr. August Belmont, who paid for him $17. soo. 
When the Nursery Stud was sold, in 1891, Mr. Dwyer 
bought him for $7,000. As a three-year old, he won 
seven races, was second twice, third once and unplaced 
twice. The following year he came more than ever into 
prominence by winning the Suburban, and then added 
seven other successes to his record, running second three 
times and being unplaced twice. 

In 1890, he ran again for the Suburban, and was de- 
feated, but won four out of his eight starts, being second 
twice and unplaced twice. His record for 1891, the first 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



WAV that he lan in tlu- colors of Mr. M. F. Dwvfi', wasqiiiti.' 
as gooJ. foi' lie won seventeen events and was second in 
six. third in three and unplaced in three. The following 
year he was successful in only seven out of twenty-one 
starts, but in 189-5 came strongly to the front again, win- 
ning eighteen races out of thirty-four in which he started, 
being second in ten. third in two and unplaced in fotir. 
His great successes this year were the Hudson River 
Handicap at Morris i'ark in 2 minutes. 14 seconds, beating 
His Highness; a high weight handicap at Coney Island 
in 2 minutes, 8 seconds, beating Gloaming, and a 1 
mile. 1 furlong at Morris Park in i minute, ^y/i seconds. 
The season of 1893 saw the practical end of his racing 
career. In the following year he was started twice, ran 
third once and was unplaced once, and then broke down 
and was withdrawn from the ^tuif. A year later his 
condition was such that his owner had him shot. Dlii- 
ing the eight years that he was on the turf he started in 
one hundred and thirty-one races, of which he won sev- 
enty, bringing to his owners a total of $119,460. He 
w.is second in twenty-seven races, third in thirteen and 
unplaced in tvventv-one. 

The principal member of the Oneck Stable, in the early 
nineties, was .Si|- Walter, who was at all times a popular 
horse. He was the son of imported Midlothian out of 
La Scala. Midlothian being by Rataplan (or Strathconan) 
out of Lufra. Rataplan was by Newminster out of 
Souvenir. Newminster being a son of Touchstone and 
Beeswing, and Souvenir a daughter of Chanticleer and 
Birthday. Lufra was by Windhound out of Maud, the 
former being by Pantaloon out of Phryne. and the latter 
by Loup Garou out of Venilia. La Scala, the dam of Sir 
Walter, was by Joe Hooker out of Abbey, her sire being 
a son of Monday, who was by Colton out of Molly Jack- 
son, his dam being Mayflower by imported Eclipse, out 
of Hennie Farrow. Abbey, the dam of La Scala, was a 
daughter of Norfolk and Ada C, the former a Lexington 
colt and the latter by Revenue out of Sally Morgan. 

• As a two-year old Sir Walter won the Great American 
Stakes, defeating Don Alonzo, Ajax, Morello and others; 
the Seaside Stakes, the Great Eclipse Stakes, beating 
Don Alonzo again; the Atlantic Stakes and the Seabright 
Stakes, his total winnings for the year being $4 1,74s. 
In his three-year old form there was none better on the 
turf at that time, and he easily beat such famous ones as 
St. Leonard, Don Alonzo and Ramapo. His victories this 
year included the Tidal, the Lorillard, the Stockton, the 
Stevens and the Fulton Stakes, his total winnings being 
S'?0,=iSO. In 1894, he captLired the all-aged Serial Handicap 
and other events, and ran third for the Brooklyn Handicap. 
The following year he made an attempt for the Brooklyn 
Handicap again and ran third, and was also second for 
the Suburban of that year. He ran third for the Metro- 
politan Stakes in iSyd, and then captured the Brooklyn 



Handicap on his third trial in that race. He has had a 
long and notable career, being one of the most faithful 
and haid-working horses in contemporaneoLis times. 
Most of the great events of the turf have fallen to him 
sooner or later, and in iStiy. at the age of seven years, he 
was still in good condition and considered worthy to 
enter for the Suburban of 1S98. 

Dobbins, who carried Mr. Richard Croker to fame as a 
turf magnate, was a Tennessean of royal equine birth. 
His sire was imported Mr. Pickwick, and his dam the 
great racing filly and brood mare, Thora, daughter of 
Longfellow, and granddaughter of both Leamington and 
Lexington. He was bred by Mr. Charles Reed, and as a 
yearling became an inmate of the Ehret Stable, When 
the Ehrets gave up racing and sold their horses, Mr. 
Croker bid high and became the owner of this promising 
half-brother to the famous Yorkville Belle. The colt, 
which up to that time had been nameless, was now 
called Dobbins, and in the spring of 189^ went to the 
post under the Croker colors. After he got through 
going that season and was retired to rest for the winter, 
he had been fifteen times a winner and had brought to 
the Tammany chieftain something like §^7,000 in stake 
money. He was started in twenty-tlve races and fought 
many haid contests, his gameness early making him a 
favorite and steadily increasing his popularity as the 
season went on. 

His lust winning was a half-mile sweepstakes at the 
Brooklyn Spring Meeting, and after that he beat Halton. 
Bowers. Sir Excess and others for the Control Stakes; 
ran second to Domino in the Great American Stakes; 
beat Declare. Hurlingham and others for the Tremont 
Stakes at Morris Park; won the Bartow Stakes at Morris 
Park; was second to Domino in the Great Eclipse Stakes; 
won the Anticipation Stakes, the Foam and the Zephyr 
Stakes; ran third in the Great Trial Stakes at Conev 
Island; won the June Stakes and the Atlantic Stakes; 
was beaten by Jack of Spades in the Seabright Stakes 
and also beaten for the Cairo Stakes and the Select 
Stakes, the latter by Senator Grady; won two purses at 
-Saratoga; lost the Futurity to Domino by a head; ran 
that famous dead heat with Domino in a match race, 
that was the sensational turf affair of the year; was 
beaten by Prigg in the Prospect Stakes and by Henry of 
Navarre in the Algeria Handicap; and after winning a 
sweepstakes and the Dunmow Stakes, closed the year by 
yielding to Sir Excess by a neck in the Champagne 
Stakes. The great Dobbins-Domino match race was one 
of the most sensational turf affairs of the year and per- 
haps of the decade. Domino had run an unchecked 
career, and yet the followers of Dobbins believed that 
their favorite was the better horse. When the race came 
off there was a battle of giants, a struggle of lierce en- 
deavor. At the end of it the judges could not separate 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the two heads, one from the other, and the world heard 
of the gamest dead heat that had ever been fought. 
Domino went to the stud unbeaten, but the star of Dob- 
bins was in the ascendant. 

When the spring came again, the son of Mr. Pickwici< 
was in good form and began his three-year old career in 
full promise of surpassing even himself. He stood 
almost supreme on the turf, and galloped along through 
the hot summer days and managed to carry off full $ss,- 
ooo, despite the fact that three-year old races are not as 
valuable as those for the two-year olds. In i8q^, he was 
in the stable that Mr. Croker took to England. Great 
hopes were based upon him. and it was confidently 
believed that he was a sure thing for a surprise of the 
Britains upon their own soil. But these expectations 
were doomed to disappointment. While he was in 
training he pulled up lame. Then he was sent into retire- 
ment and was suriounded with some of the best brood 
mares of England. He was great, game and honest, the 
highest type of the tirst-class American horse. 

Chosen to be another of the leading representatives of 
the American turf in the string that Messrs. Croker & 
Dwyer took to Europe in i8q=), Banc^uet, who was then 
an eight-year old, had already proven himself to be a 
worthy son of imported Rayon d'Or. He was foaled in 
1887 and bred by the Honorable William L. Scott at the 
Algeria Stud. His dam, Ella T., was by War Dance 
out of Bonnie Kate, the latter being by imported Knight 
of St. George out of Eagle, who was a famous gray 
mare, foaled in 18^2. In his two-year old and three-year 
old forms he was raced in the colors of Mr. Scott. He 
then became the property of Mr. M. F. Dwyer, and dur- 
ing the next four years, previous to his departure for 
Europe, had a notable career. In i88q, he won tive 
races; in 1890, thirteen; in 1891, thirty-four; in iScj^. 
twenty-two; in 189^, twenty-four, and in 1804, twenty, 
making a total of one hundred and eighteen. One of his 
best achievements was the winning of the Navesink 
Handicap at Monmouth Park, in 1892, \}<i miles, in 2 
minutes, ^yi seconds. 

The following year at the Spring Meeting of the New 
York Jockey Club he won the Standard Stakes, i}( miles, 
in 2 minutes, s^4 seconds. His dead heat with Ramapo 
for a handicap sweepstakes at Sheepshead Bay, in 1894, 
which was run off and won bv him, was tlie exciting 
event of that season. Among his other successes were 
the Expectation Stakes, in 1889, and the Realization, 
the Lorillard, the Stevens and the Stockton Stakes, in 1890, 
the latter, i '4 miles, in 2 minutes, 3^ seconds. In 1891, 
he won the Monmouth Handicap and the Country Club 
Handicap. Less successful on the English turf than he 
had been in his native land, in July, 189^, he ran second 
to Virago in a trial plate selling race at Newmarket, with 
Golden Slipper third. The owner of Golden Slipper 



claimed him, and he passed out of the hands of Messrs. 
Croker & Dwyer. Previous to this, however, he had 
won a selling race over the ditch mile at Newmarket, an 
uphill course and one of the severest in England, defeat- 
ing Di'ugo, Courante and seven others. 

Stonenell, a chestnut horse by Stonehenge out of Nell, 
was bred bv Mr. D. D. Withers and foaled in 1889. As 
a two-year old he was raced in the colors of Mr. Withers, 
but the same year became the property of Mr. M. F. 
Dwyer. He then won twelve races, his best perfor- 
mances being a sweepstakes at Coney Island over the 
Futurity course in i minute, lof seconds, and a welter- 
weight handicap at Morris Park, s furlongs, in S9^ sec- 
onds. He was successful in twenty-four races in 189^, 
winning three at a mile distance, one of them in i min- 
ute. 4\}4 seconds, a time that would compare with the 
best records of the American turf. He was best at 7 
furlongs and under. In 1894, he won fourteen races, 
being defeated twice that year by Glenmoyne. 
Taken to England as the second member of Messrs. 
Croker & Dwyer's string in 189s, his career as an 
Ameiican race horse, under American colors, was 
brought abruptly to an end, for he ran in a selling race 
at Newmarket in May and was claimed by Mr. T. Hood- 
less. 

Domino, who won the Futurity in 189^, was bred by 
Major B. G. Thomas at the Dixiana Stud. He was a son 
of Himvar out of Mannie Grey. His dam was a daughter 
of Enc]uirer out of Lizzie G.. Enquirer being a son of im- 
ported Leamington out of Leader, daughter of Lexington 
and Lize. Lizzie G., the grandam of Domino, was bv 
the celebrated Wai' Dance, by Lexington out of Reel, her 
dam being a daughter of Lecomte and Edith. Domino 
was a full brother to Correction, and was sold as a vear- 
ling. in 1892, to Mr. James R. Keene for $3,000. He 
became one of the most celel^Tated horses on the Ameri- 
can turf in this generation, beating everything with 
which he was brought into contact. His first start as a 
two-year old in 1891, was for a sweepstake, 5 furlongs, 
which he won by 6 lengths in a gallop in i minute, 2 
seconds. 

His subsequent winnings that year were the Great 
American Stakes at Gravesend in i minute, \ji seconds; 
the Great Eclipse Stakes at Morris Park in 1 minute, 12?^ 
seconds, when he beat Dobbins, Declare, St. Julian, 
Hurlingham and Sam Lucas; the Great Trial Stakes at 
Coney Island in i minute, 14 seconds, beating Hydera- 
bad, Dobbins, Declare and others; the Hyde Park Stakes 
at Washington Park, Chicago, in i minute, 14 sec- 
onds, beating Peter the Great. Vassal and others; the 
Produce Stakes at Monmouth Park in 1 minute, 14)^ 
seconds, and the Futurity against Dobbins, Galilee and 
others. As a result of the Futurity a special race for 
$10,000 a side was arranged between Domino and Dob- 



THE AMERICAN TURI' 



liins, and was luii at Shccpshead Bay ovci' tlic Iniluiitv 
(bourse and was a dead heat between the two in i min- 
ute, \2j seconds. Domino then won the Matron Stakes 
at Morris Paik in i minute, g seconds, and closed one of 
tile most lemaikabie careers ever known to the Ameri- 
can turf, having faiily earned the title that was given 
to him of being " the unbeatable black wonder." 

Great surprises have always come to be looked foi' on 
the turf, and, paradoxical as it may seem, surprises are, 
after all, not always surprises in the broadest sense of 
the word. When Mr. Marcus Daly's Ogden came in at 
the head of a large tield in the FutLiiitv of iSc)6 the sur- 
prise was one that was not whollv unanticipated, 
although perhaps the majority of frequentei's at Sheeps- 
head Bav had not discounted it, especially in their bet- 
ting. It has been estimated that, as a result of Ogden's 
winning, at least $soo.ooo changed hands upon that 
eventful occasion, and his victory at that time was not 
that of an outsider, for he was brought to the post in 
perfect condition and showed himself entitled to rank 
among the fastest and gamest two-year olds of this gen- 
eration. He ran the race a full second lower than the 
best previous record, which had been established at i 
minute, ii seconds, by The Butterflies in 1894. Ogden 
was a brown colt of the best English and Irish blood. His 
sire was Kilwarlin. son of Arbitrator and Hasty Girl. 
Arbitrator was by Solon OLit of True Heai1. Solon being 
a son of West Australian and True Heart a daughter of 
Musjid and Mary Jane. 

Hasty Girl, the dam of Kilwarlin. was a daughter of 
Lord Gough and Irritation. Lord Gough being by Glad- 
iateur out of Battaglia. and Irritation by King of Trumps 
out of Patience. Kilwarlin was bred in 1884 by Tom 
Connolly at Curragh View. County Kildare, Ireland. As 
a racer he had a good career, winning the St. Leger in 
1887, and the Tenth Great Challenge Stakes at New- 
market in the same year, when he defeated Fronduce. 
Wise Man, Fleur de Marie and Bella Donna. Oriole, the 
dam of Ogden. was by Bend Or out of Fenella. She 
was bred in 1887 by the Duke of Westminster. Bend 
Or, as is well known, traced to Doncaster, Stockwell, 
Thormanby and the great English families which those 
champions represented. Fenella was by Cambuscan out 
of La Favorita. the former being a son of Newminster 
and The Arrow, and the latter a daughter of Monarque 
and Constance. Fenella was also the dam of Dourance. 
by Rosicrucian. Bv Bend Or. Dourance was the dam of 
(luetta. who threw Gray Leg and Cayenne, both by 
Pepper and Salt and Helen by Marian. 

The blood of imported Leamington. Lexington, im- 
ported Glengarry, Thormanby, the great Derby winner, 
and imported Bonnie Scotland, were all united in Dr. 
Rice, whose pedigree had crosses of the most famous 
thoroughbreds on both sides of the Atlantic. The sire 



of Dr. Rice was Onondaga, son of imported Leamington 
and Susan Beane. His dam was Bonnie Lee, by imported 
Glengarry out of Bonnie Harold. Dr. Rice's great title 
to fame was his winning of the Brooklyn Handicap in 
i8q4, when he ran the distance in 2 minutes, "]}{ sec- 
onds. He was bred in i8c)o at the McGrathiana Stud, 
and in general appearance and build favored his noted 
sire. As a two-year old he was one of the best in his 
class, defeating nearly all his rivals, and in his three-year 
old form he won the Withers Stakes and other events. 
Ornament, who won the Latonia Derby in 1897, and the 
Brooklyn Handicap in i8q8, has earned a reputation of 
being one of the best horses of his age in the country. He 
is a son of imported Oidei', who was by Bend Or out of 
Angelica. Through Bend Or he traced to Stockwell, 
Doncastei' and Thoimanby, and through Angelica to 
Vedette and Flying Duchess, Victorine, the dam of 
Ornament, was got by Onondaga, son of imported Leam- 
ington, her dam being Maria D., who traced to Lisbon, 
PiKcton, Lexington and Lightsome. 

Hamburg, one of the most sensational horses of 1807, 
and perhaps, even of the decade, was got by Hanover 
out of Lady Reel. His great performance that brought 
him to public attention and established him as the fore- 
most two-year old of the year, was his winning of the 
Great Trial Stakes at Sheepshead Bay in July, when he 
ran over the Futurity Course, in i minute. \2\ seconds. 
He was not looked upon as a winner in the betting, the 
odds being 7 to i against him. He beat such good ones 
as Previous, who was second; George Keene. who was 
third, and a tield consisting of Firearm, who was the 
favorite in the betting. Bowling Brook. Varus, Handball. 
Landemann. Kitefoot. Urillo, The Huguenot and Com- 
merce. During 1897. he was owned by Mr. J. E. Mad- 
den, but was subsequently sold to Mr. Marcus Daly, 
who. according to report, paid S40.fxxj for the celebrated 
colt. About the same time his dam. Lady Reel, was 
sold in Kentucky for $m,cxx), a phenomenal price for a 
brood mare. 

The winnei' of the Kentucky Derby in i8q7. Typhoon 
11.. was by imported Topgallant out of Dollie Varden. 
Topgallant was a son of Steiling and Seamark. Sterling 
being by Oxford, son of Birdcatcher and Honey Dear, 
while his dam. Whisper, was the daughter of Flat- 
catcher and Silence. Seamark was by Adventurer, out 
of Seagull, the former being a son of Newminster and 
Palma. and the latter a daughter of Lifeboat and Wild 
(-herry. Dollie Varden. the dam of Typhoon II.. was by 
imported Glenelg out of Nannie Black, the latter being 
by Virgil, son of Vandal, and out of Nannie Butler, 
daughter of Lexington and Tokay. As a two-year old 
Typhoon II. won seven out of the sixteen races in which 
he started, and was second tive times. Among his best 
work was the defeat of Ornament in two races. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Howard Mann, the winner of the Brooklyn Handicap 
of 1897, was foaled in i8c)^, being a son of Duke of 
Montrose by Seamew. Through his sire he traced to 
Australian, Weatherhit, Bonnie Scotland and Sovereign, 
and through his dam to Rosicrucian, Beadsman. Cam- 
buscan, Buckden and Lexington. 

Probably no son of Eolus has been more famous or 
more deserving of the reputation that he achieved 
than Morello, the famous Futurity winner. He has been 
called "one of the most sensational horses that ever ran 
in America." Bred by Dr. W. C. Hardy and Captain 
R. J. Hancock, of Virginia, he was sold as a yearling to 
Mr. Bernard Dos well for only $100. so absolutely 
unpromising was his appearance. By the time he was a 
two-year old, he had so improved that he was valued at 
$1,000, at which price he was sold to Mr. William 
M. Singerly and Mr. Frank Van Ness. Before he started 
in the Futurity of 1892, he had won eleven out of four- 
teen races, although few of them had been important 
events. He was not in the best condition to run the 
Futurity (bourse, but easily landed the prize, defeating 
Lady Violet, St. Leonards and others, in i minute. I2i 
seconds. At the Hawthorne Park, Chicago, the follow- 
ing year, he won the Chicago Derby from Boundless, 
but his great achievement was the winning of the 
Wheeler Handicap at Washington Park, Chicago, in 
July, 1893. With 117 pounds up, he covered \}( miles 
in 2 minutes, 5 seconds, equaling the I'ecord of Salvator 
at that distance three years previously at Sheepshead 
Bay. The record stands to-day unchallenged for that 
distance. It is considered even better than Salvator's, 
since the latter was a four-year old, while Morello 
was only in his three-year old foi'm. After completing 
his turf career, Morello entered the stud of Mr. J. O. 
Reese, in California, and there died in 1896. 

By all odds the most distinguished son of Bramble was 
Ben Brush, who won the Suburban Handicap in 1897. 
He was a horse of remarkably good breeding on the 
side of his dam as well as on that of his sire. His dam 
was Roseville, a mare who was foaled in 1888 and bred 
by Commodore J. E. Kittson. Roseville was by Reform 
out of Albia. Reform, as we have several times had 
occasion to point out, was a son of imported Leaming- 
ton by imported Stolen Kisses. Albia was by Alarm 
out of Elastic, Alarm being a son of imported Eclipse by 
imported Maud, and Elastic a daughter of Kentucky and 
Blue Ribbon. Albia was also the dam of Azra, the 
winner of the Kentucky Derby, the Clark Stakes, and 
the Travers Stakes, as a three-year old in 1892. Ben 
Brush was bred in 1893, and his first start in his two- 
year old form was for a purse at Louisville which he 
won. Afterward he won the Cadet Stakes at Louis- 
villle, 4;4 furlongs, in 58 seconds; the Harold Stakes at 
Latonia, 5 furlongs, in i minute, 2)^ seconds; the Emer- 



ald Stakes at Oakley, s furlongs, in 1 minute, 2)4; seconds; 
and the Diamond Stakes at Oakley, 5>2 furlongs, in i 
minute, 8 seconds. When he made his appearance upon 
the Eastern tracks that year he had an unbroken record 
of success, but the rest of his season was less satisfac- 
tory to his owner. 

Starting first at Sheepshead Bay, he finished third to 
Right Royal and Floretta IV. in a six furlongs race, 
which the winner made in 1 minute, i 3I- seconds. He 
succeeded in winning at five furlongs in i minute, | of a 
second, but came in second to Requital for the Flatbush 
Stakes and ran unplaced for the Great Eastern Handi- 
cap. His victory in the Holly Handicap at Gravesend 
served, however, to re-establish him in public favor, 
since he ran the five furlongs in i minute, i>2 seconds, 
beating Margrave. Crescendo, Silver 11. and others. 
When he won the Suburban, beating Havoc and others, 
and, running the distance in 2 minutes, 71- seconds, he 
became firmly fixed in racing history as one of the 
speediest horses of his generation. 

When Requital won the Futurity in 1895, a represen- 
tative of the choicest and most fashionable blood in Eng- 
land at the present time came conspicuously to the front. 
Eothen, the sire of Requital, was bred at Yardley Stud, 
England, and imported as a yearling in 1884, by Mr. 
1). D. Withers. He was the son of Hampton and Sul- 
tana, Hampton being by Lord Clifden out of Lady 
Langden. Lord Clifden was the son of Newminster 
and The Slave, and Lady Langden the daughter of 
Kettledrum and Haricot. Sultana was by Oxford out 
of Besika, Oxford being by Birdcatcher out of Honey 
Dear and Besika by Beiram out of Meirope. Hampton 
was for several years one of the leading sires of England, 
rivaling in popularity even St. Simon and Isonomy. 
Among his get have been some of the greatest per- 
formers on the English turf in this generation, includ- 
ing Merry Hampton, winner of the Derby in 1887, 
Ayrshire, winner of the Derby in 1888, and Ladas, win- 
ner of the Derby in 1894. 

Oxford, the sire of Sultana, was also the sire of Ster- 
ling and of Isonomy, who, in turn, was the sire of 
Isinglass and Common. Eothen's second dam, Besika, 
also threw Moslem, a winner of the Two Thousand 
Guineas, while his third dam, Merope, produced Fly- 
ing Duchess, who was the dam of Galopin, the sire of 
St. Simon. Retribution, the dam of Requital, was by 
Reform out of Nemesis and was finely bred in the lines 
of Eclipse and Herod. Her sire. Reform, was by im- 
ported Leamington out of Stolen Kisses, the latter being 
a daughter of Knight of Kars and Defamation. Neme- 
sis, the dam of Retribution, was by imported Eclipse, 
son of Orlando and Gaze, her dam being Echo by Lexing- 
ton out of Mary Innis. Requital was bred at the Brook- 
dale Farm of Messrs. W. P. Thompson & Sons, and foaled 
114 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



in 1803. He wns a horse of fine appearance and a great 
favorite when he started for the Futurity, which he suc- 
ceeded in carrying off, having previously won that year 
five out of the six events for which he was started. 

Among the names of the greatest thoroughbreds that 
have achieved public approval on the American turf in 
this generation, the name of Tenny is conspicuously en- 
tered in a high place. His sire, Rayon d'Or, had the Hng- 
lish St. Leger and other victories to his credit, and trans- 
mitted to his son the blood of such famoLis Hnglish thor- 
oughbreds as Flageolet, Plutus, Trumpator, Monai-que 
and Chamant. Araucaria, the dam of Rayon d'Or, was 
a daughter of Ambrose and Pocahontas, Ambrose being 
by Touchstone and Annette and Pocahontas by Glencoe 
and Marpessa. Among other distinguished ancestors of 
Tenny, on the side of his sire, were Priam, Orlando, Bay 
IVtiddleton, Venison and Darkness, comprising some of 
the best blood of the English turf. The dam of Tenny 
was Belle of IVlaywood, daughter of Hunter's Lexington 
and Julia Mattingly. Hunter's Lexington, it is almost 
needless to say, was a son of the great horse whose 
name he bore, and his dam was Sally Lewis, daughter 
of imported Glencoe and Motto. Sally Lewis was one of 
the best mares of the middle of the century. She was 
the dam of Susan Beane, who in turn was the dam of 
Sensation, Stratford, Susquehanna and Onondaga, 
Julia Mattingly, the grandam of Tenny, was by John 
Morgan, son of imported Sovereign and Sally Lewis. 
Her dam was Blue Bell, daughter of Chorister. 

in his two-year old form Tenny's maiden race was the 
Owner's Handicap at Latonia. The following year he 
demonstrated his prowess bv winning the Fort Hamilton 
Handicap at Brooklyn, the Volunteer Handicap at Sheeps- 
head Bay, the Passaic, the Eatontown and the Choice 
Stakes at Monmouth, the Van Nest and the Electric Stakes 
at Morris Park, the Fulton Stakes at Brooklyn and the 
Oakland Stakes at the Fall Meeting, Morris Park. In his 
four-year old form the Westchester Cup and the New 
York Jockey Club Handicap fell to him at Moi'ris Park, 
the Ocean and the Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth and 
the Labor Stakes at Sheepshead Bay. The great Salvator- 
Tenny match of the same year was a tuif event that will 
never be forgotten by those who witnessed it. The 
season that he was five years old, Tenny won the 
Brooklyn Handicap, the Flight Stakes at Sheepshead 
Bay and the Ocean Stakes at Morris Park. After he 
was retired to the stud he got several good horses, 
the best known of his sons, perhaps, being David II., a 
bay colt, who ran in England with considerable success, 
and had, among his other triumphs, a win in the Maiden 
Stakes at Newmarket. 

Fewer horses have ever had a higher place in popular 
esteem in recent times than Henry of Navarre. His 
blood was of the best, having in it strains of Lexington, 



Glencoe, Eclipse, Leamington and other famous cracks. 
Foaled in 1891, he was got by Knight of Ellerslie out of 
Moss Rose. His sire was by Eolus and Lizzie Hazle- 
wood, and Eolus was by imported Leamington. The 
dam of Eolus was Fanny Washington out of Sarah 
Washington, by Revenue, all three of the last named 
horses being among the most successful on the American 
turf in the closing years of the first half of this century. 
Lizzie Hazlewood. the dam of Knight of Ellerslie, was 
by Scathelock out of War Song, Scathelock being a son 
of the gieat Ameiican Eclipse and Fanny Washington, 
while War Song was by War Dance out of Eliza Davis. 
On the side of his dam Henry of Navarre traced to Lexing- 
ton and imported Glencoe, and had all the virtue of blood 
that pertained to those great families. His dam. Moss 
Rose, was by imported The lll-Used out of Scarlet. 
The lll-Used gave to him some of the best blood known 
to the modern English turf. Scarlet, the dam of Moss 
Rose, was by Kentucky, dam Marroon, Kentucky being 
a son of Lexington and Magnolia, and Marroon a daugh- 
ter of Glencoe, out of a sister to Tangent. 

In his two-year old form, Henry of Navarre in 1893 
ran ten races, being first in six, second in two, third in 
one and once unplaced. His first success was in carry- 
ing off the Breeders' Stakes at Lexington in 1 minute, 
4/^ seconds. His total winnings the first year were 
$10,708. As a three-year old in 1894 he did not start off 
well, running second or third in such events as the Brook- 
lyn Handicap, the Metropolitan Handicap and the Withers 
Stakes. He won the Belmont Stakes in i mmute, y6% 
seconds, and was unplaced in the Suburban. Among 
his other triumphs of this season were the Travers Stakes, 
for which he covered the distance in 2 minutes, lo'i sec- 
onds, the Foxhall stakes, in i minute, 33 j^ seconds; and 
the Iroquis Stakes in 1 minute, 43 seconds. His total win- 
nings for the year were $37,760.' In 1895, he won the 
Merchants' Stakes of the Latonia Jockey Club in 1 
minute, S5 seconds; the Country Club Stakes of the 
Cincinnati Jockey Club in i minute, 55'- seconds; the 
Manhattan Handicap at Morris Park in 2 minutes, 7 sec- 
onds; the Municipal Handicap at Morris Park in 3 min- 
utes, 2 seconds, and several special races, earning $14,01 s. 
His great success in 1896 was in winning the Suburban, 
which he carried off in the good time of 2 minutes, 7 
seconds. During the first three years that he was on the 
turf he started in forty races, twenty-seven of which he 
won. 

Son of imported St. Blaise and Susquehanna, Potomac 
was one of the greatest thoroughbreds ever foaled in 
America. Through his sire, who was a son of Hermit 
and Fuzee, he traced to Newminster, Touchstone, Tad- 
mor, Orlando, Gladiator, Vesuvienne, Malibran and other 
great horses of the English turf. On the side of his dam, 
Susquehanna, who was a daughter of Leamington and 



115 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Susan Beane, he united the Leamington and Lexington 
blood, Susan Beane being a daughter of Lexington and 
Sally Lewis, who was a daughter of imported Glencoe 
and Motto. Potomac made his debut upon the turf in 
his two-year old form, in 1890, when he cantered 
home in front of Masher for the Futurity, with Strath- 
meath, Montana, Rey del Rey, Ambulance. Kiideer, 
Russell and others also behind him. His other winnings 
in this year were the Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth 
Park and the Flatbush Stakes at Sheepshead Bay. In 
his three-year old form he won the Spendthrift and the 
Realization Stakes at Sheepshead Bay and the Barnegat 
Stakes at Monmouth Park, and earned the distinction of 
being the only horse who had ever won those two 
richest events of the American turf, the Futurity and the 
Realization. As a four-vear old he won several purses 
and sweepstakes and was then retired to the stud. The 
grand total of his performances were twenty races, in 
eleven of which he was first, being second in four, thiid 
in two and unplaced in three. His total winnings were 
$116,085. 

The chestnut colt Handspring, who was foaled in i8q^, 
added to the reputation of his sire, Hanover and his 
grandsire Hindoo. The blood of Virgil, Vandal, Lex- 
ington and Bonnie Scotland, that came to him on the 
male side, was fully displayed in his achievements as a 
two-year old and a three-year old. His dam. My 
Favorite, was a daughter of imported Rayon d'Or and 
Nannie H., the latter being a daughter of Imported Glen 
Athol and Sallie Watson by Ringgold, out of Ann Wat- 
son. As a two-year old in 1895 he won the Great Trial 
Stakes at Sheepshead Bay, easily defeating Applegate by 
i>2 lengths. In 1896, his great achievement was his 
defeat of Hastings at Morris Park, in one of the finest 
and closest struggles that the race course has ever seen, 
both great thoroughbreds fighting it out inch by inch and 
Handspring winning by a short head in i minute. 41 
seconds. 

Although St. Blaise gave many eminent thoroughbreds 
to the American turf, few, if any of them, have surpassed 
Clarendon in brilliancy of performance. His dam was 
Clara by imported The 111-Used, out of imported Camilla. 
The 111-Used was the sire of His Highness, Lady Violet and 
many others of equally high rank. Camilla was a daughter 
of King Tom, who was by Harkaway out of Pocahontas; 
her dam was Agnes, one of the finest representatives of 
the family that went by that name. Bred in 1887, Clar- 
endon made his debut upon the turf as a two-year old, 
but did not appear to advantage, being unable to score 
brackets, although he showed himself possessed of 
qualities entitling him to rank in the first-class. During 
the season he beat such good ones as Padishah, 
Chaos, Chesapeake and others. As a three-year old he 
won a sweepstakes at Morris Park, i mile, in i minute, 



41 Vj seconds: a sweepstakes at Monmouth Park, i}i 
miles, in i minute, sy seconds; the Seaside Stakes at 
Monmouth Park, 6 furlongs, in 1 minute. 16 seconds; a 
6 furlongs sweepstakes at Monmouth, in i minute, 13 
seconds, upon which occasion he beat Tipstaff, Major 
Daly, Fitzjames, Bella B., Blackburn, My Fellow and 
others; the Trenton Stakes, in which he beat Kempland 
and others; a sweepstakes over the Futurity Course at 
Sheepshead Bay at the head of a field of sixteen, in 1 
minute, i if seconds, and a handicap at Linden, beating 
Eolo, Lavina Bell, My Fellow and others. In 1891, he 
defeated Eon, son of Eolus, at Gravesend, and then was 
defeated for the Maturity Handicap, the Parkway Handi- 
cap and the Fourth of July Handicap, in the latter run- 
ning second to Raceland. In 1892, he ran fifth in the 
Brooklyn Handicap. 

Bright Phoebus, who won the Realization in 1895, was 
a son of Falsetto, who was by Enquirer out of Farfaletta. 
Through his grandsire he had the much prized Leam- 
ington and Lexington blood, while through his grandam 
Farfaletta, he had the Australian, Lexington and Glencoe 
blood. The dam of Bright Phcebus was Buff and Blue, 
who was by War Dance out of Balloon. War Dance 
transmitted to him crosses of Boston, Lexington and 
Glencoe. Balloon, the dam of Buff and Blue, was by 
impoited Yorkshire out of Heraldry. The Butterflies, 
winner of the Futurity in 1894, in the extraordinary 
good time of 1 minute. 1 1 seconds, was got by Sir 
Dixon out of Mercedes. Sir Dixon was one of the best 
sons of Billet and Jaconet, thus uniting the Voltigeur, 
Leamington and Australian blood. The dam of The But- 
tertlies was by Melbourne, Jr., out of Lady Hardway, her 
sire being Knight of St. George by Irish Birdcatcher, 
and out of Melrose by Melbourne. Lady Hardway was 
by Commodore by Boston and out of Reunion by Union. 

Another recent winner of the Realization, the greatest 
of three-year old events, was The Friar, who came in at 
the head of a good field in 1897. He was by Friar's 
Balsam out of Lizzie Baker and was imported as a year- 
ling. His performance in the Realization eclipsed all 
previous records for the event. Jack of Spades, who 
won the Great Eastern Handicap at Sheepshead Bay in 
1899, was by Magnetizer out of Nellie Jane. His pedigree 
showed the best modern strains linked to some of the 
staunchest lines of old American and English families. 
His sire was by The 111-Used out of Magnetism, the 
former giving him the Stockwell, Blink Bonnie and other 
crosses and the latter, Lexington and Balrownie crosses. 
Nellie James was by Dollar out of Fleur des Chants, 
Dollar being descended from Flying Dutchman and Bay 
Middleton and Fleur des Chants through her sire New- 
minster tracing to Touchstone, and through her dam 
Maria to Harkaway. 

Kingston, who was by Spendthrift out of Kapanga, 



116 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



was foaled in 1884. Of little consequence when a two- 
year old, he became a mighty champion as he advanced 
in years. He was trained by Mr. E. Snedeker, and in 
his first year on the turf took part in six races, two of 
which, those for the Camden and the Select Stakes, he 
ran in fairly good style. The following year he began 
to show something like his true form, and being started 
eighteen times, won thirteen races. It was in the Swift 
Stakes at Sheepshead Bay that lie most gallantly main- 
tained his own against Hanover arid Firenze, and two 
days later, in the Tidal Stakes, although beaten by Han- 
over, made another good exhibition. He was then pur- 
chased by the Dwyer Brothers, who paid §12,000 for 
him. Under their management he ran for the next 
seven years, and during that time was in one hundred 
and ten races, of which he won eighty-three, carrying 
off a total of over .$200,000. Even when he was nine 
years old he still possessed and displayed all the highest 
qualities of the thoroughbred, except the ability to go a 
distance. He never liked to travel much more than one 
mile. The Dwyers were anxious to match him against 
Salvator for §20,000 a side, but could not agree with Mr. 
Haggin over the conditions of such a race, the latter 
wanting i>2 miles, while the former insisted upon 1 's 
miles. 

in 1890, upon the dissolution sale of the Dwyer Bioth- 
ers, Kingston was sold for $30,000 and became the prop- 
erty of Mr. M. F. Dwyer. In the summer of 1891, he 
made an unfortunate journey to the West to meet 
Marion C, Virgil d'Or and Aloha in the Garfield Stakes. 
His Eastern admirers believed that he would have a walk- 
over, but the journey upset him and Marion C. won 
easily by a length. A week later he turned the tables 
by beating Marion C. in a common canter, demonstrat- 
ing that he had lost the Garfield Stakes only because he 
had not had time to get into condition after his long 
railroad journey. On the whole, he was little, if any- 
thing inferior to such champions as Tremont, Hanover, 
Firenze and Salvator and lasted longer in good condi- 
tion, so that in his later years upon the turf he was the 
oldest high-class horse in active and efficient service, 
in the First Special Stakes of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, 
in 1889, he beat the redoubtable Tenny, \'i miles, in 
2 minutes, 6j4 seconds. On this occasion he made a 
new record, the time for the distance then standing at 2 
minutes, 7 seconds, which was made by Dry Monopole 
in 1887 upon the same track. His performance was 
considered as ranking with Longfellow's Saratoga Cup 
in 1871, Spendthrift's Lorillard in 1879, Firenzes Free- 
hold in 1888 and other great weight-for age contests. 

Two horses in the earlv nineties carried the colors of 
Mr. J B. Haggin to the front upon many a hard fought field 
of battle, and added imperishable glories to the Amei- 
ican turl'. Probably no horse in this generation was a 



greater public favorite and more deserved the enthu- 
siasm with which he was regarded than .Salvator. 
Tenny alone rivaled him in these respects and the strug- 
gles for superiority between these two were the most 
brilliant and the most exciting events that the turf had 
known for a generation. Salvator was bred at the El- 
mendorf Farm of Mr. M. H. Sanford, in Kentucky. Ik- 
was a son of imported Prince Charlie, "the Prince of the 
r. Y. C," a horse that fell into disfavor in his native 
land on account of the affection in his wind, commonly 
known as roaring. He was not successful on the turf 
and was little favored in breeding, although he stood in 
the stud in England for many years and got some very 
good horses. At thirteen years of age he was brought 
to the United States, but lived here only long enough to 
serve in the stud for three seasons. During that 
time, however, he did very much to improve and 
strengthen American thoroughbred strains. His most 
celebrated get were Salvator, Senorita, Protection and 
Brown Princess. 

Salina, the dam of Salvator, was a wonderful race 
mare and granddaughter of the famous mare. Levity, by 
imported Trustee. In his Levity strain, Salvator had 
some of the bkiest blood and the most highly prized in 
this country. In 1889, he won all the choicest prizes 
that are set apart for three-year olds, except the Omni- 
bus Stakes. In 1890, as a four-year old, he reached the 
height of his glory; that year was the scene of the fierce 
struggle with Tenny. He won the Suburban in 2 min- 
utes, 6^ seconds, the best time that had yet been re- 
corded for the event. His achievement was not a sur- 
prise, for he was a prime favorite in the betting. Tenny 
ran third in this race, which led to the special match be- 
tween the two that came off a week later, Salvator 
again defeating his opponent. In August of the same 
year he ran his great mile for a purse against the record, 
I minute, }()Ji seconds. This race was run at Mon- 
mouth Park and the time which the peerless son of 
Prince Charlie put up, i minute, ^^'/i seconds, has re- 
mained the record and unchallenged ever since. The 
same year he won the Titan Stakes, the Jersey Handi- 
cap, the September Stakes, and other important events. 
After his retirement from the turf, in 1891, he stood in 
the stud at Mr. Haggin's Rancho del Paso. 

Among racing fillies, Firenze occupies the highest posi- 
tion, and was in her class what Salvator was in his. 
During her long career she conquered all the very best 
race horses of her day. She, too, was a product of the 
Elmendorf Farm, which has given to the turf such great 
horses as Tremont, Monitor, Dry Monopole and a score 
of others scarcely less meritorious. Firenze was by 
Glenelg out of Florida, and was foaled in 1884. A list 
of her victories on the turf during the seven years that 
she was raced would include all the great prizes, and she 



117 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



beat Hanover, The Bard, Exile, Tenny and other cham- 
pions. Some of her best achievments were the winning 
of the Harvest Handicap, the Monmouth Cup and the 
Monmouth Handicap in 1888. and the Handicap Sweep- 
stakes at Monmouth, and the New York Handicap and 
Omnium Handicap at Sheepshead Bay in 1889. Her 
greatest triumphs were in 1888 and 1889, and in the 
latter year by far the largest proportion of the valuable 
all-aged events fell to her. In 1891, she went off in con- 
dition, and was retired, carrying with her the fame of 
having been one of the greatest racing fillies that the 
world has ever known. 

And so we might run on in a never ending recapitula- 



tion, recalling with pleasant memories such thorough- 
breds as Tournament, by Sir Modred and Plaything; 
Hindoocraft, by Hindoo and Lady Crafton; Tea Tray, by 
Rayon d'Or and Ella T. ; Come to Taw, by Long Taw 
and MollieSeabrooke; Volunteer, by imported Mortemer 
and Sly Boots; Strideaway, by Glenmore and Spin- 
away; Fordham, by Falsetto and Semper Vive; Judge 
Morrow, by Vagabond and Moonlight: Longstreet, by 
Longfellow and Semper Idem ; the Duke of Montrose, by 
Waverly and Kelpie, with Tremont, The Friar, The Butter- 
flies, Miss Woodford, Runnymede and scores of others 
not less distinguished than tiie many that have already 
been described. 



iiS 



AMHRICAN TURFMFN IN HUROPH 



Mr. Richard Tf.x Bkofxk's English Campaign — Vknturi-s of Mfssrs. M. 1 1 

PiFRRK l.OKILLARD, JaMES R. KEENE AND OtHFRS— TuF RriFFIANT 

Victories of Iroquois and Foxhai.i. 



Sandford, 



NSTANCHS are plentiful to show the interest that h;is 
always been taken in the English turtby those who 
have followed racing affairs in the United States. 
All the leading turfmen of America have from time 
immemorial made a study of racing methods in the Old 
Country, and a hundred years ago, even as it is to-day, 
the Derby, the St. Leger and other historic events were 
looked forward to with scarcely less interest on the part 
of the Americans than by their English brethren. As 
far back as the concluding year of the reign of George 
IV., that celebrated Virginia statesman, John Randolph, 
of Roanoke, paid his last visit to England. Differing 
with many American statesmen of his day, Mr. Ran- 
dolph was always conspicuous for his attachment to 
everything English, and an earnest advocate of the social 
life and customs of the mother country. With his Vir- 
ginia training and education he understood and appre- 
ciated thoroughbred horses quite as well as, even if not bet- 
ter, than many Englishmen who frequented Newmarket or 
Epsom. During his stay in England he attended every 
race meeting which it was possible for him to reach and 
his correspondence with his fiiends in Virginia was 
aglow with bright descriptions of \A-hat he saw upon the 
English turf. It was his good fortune to witness the 
Derby won by the great Priam, one of the best English 
thoroughbreds of his own or any other day, and it was a 
source of gratification to him when this splendid stal- 
lion became the property of a Virginia gentleman and an 
important factor of the American Stud Book. Mr. Ran- 
dolph even then expressed his conviction that the time 
would come sooner or later when the American thor- 
oughbred would be able to contest honors with the best 
that the English turf could present. 

it was not long after this visit of Mr. Randolph to 
England in 1830 that the Englishmen themselves began, 
here and there, to pay a little attention to the subject of 
racing in the United States and the possibilities of our 
future as regarded the production of great thoroughbreds. 
A writer in The Quarterly Review about this time said, 
" but it is in the New World — in America— that racing 
and the improvement of horses are making the most 
rapid progress, so much so, indeed, as, from the excel- 
lent choice our kinsmen make in their stud horses, to 
incline some persons to the opinion that in the course of 
another half century we shall have to go to the United 



States to replenish our own blood, which must degen- 
erate, if that of the most sound and enduring qualities is 
transported into that country." The writer then gave a 
list of more than thirty valuable English sires imported 
into the United States, among them being Barefoot, 
Chateau Margaux, Lapdog, Margrave Rowton, St. Giles, 
Tranby, Glencoe and Priam, and he argued that the de- 
scendants of these stallions might reasonably be 
expected, in one or two generations, to rival anything 
that English breeders might be able to produce. Another 
English authority, many years after, added his testimony 
to the effect that, "within the last forty years this list 
has been indefinitely extended until it is impossible to 
deny that the United States are richly furnished with our 
best equine blood." 

While there were many in this country who always 
gave the subject much thought after the manner of Mr. 
Randolph, it must be confessed that, in England, writers 
or turfmen who paid attention to such suggestions as 
that made in The Quarterly Review, were principally 
conspicuous by their absence. There has always been 
an ingrained confidence in the minds of all Englishmen 
in the superiority of their thoroughbreds and their turf 
methods. All things considered, this is not surprising. 
The traditions that have clustered around the English 
turf dating back for three and four hundred and more 
years, have served so (irmly to establish the great na- 
tional institution, that in the opinions of those most 
attached to it, very little, if anything good can come of 
efforts outside of its particular sphere. These opinions, 
have, however, been severely shaken in contemporane- 
ous times by victories of American horses on the turf of 
the mother country, but fifty years and more ago the 
superiority of the English thoroughbred was scarcely 
challenged, even in an argumentative way. The few 
Englishmen who considered the subject at all rather 
looked upon the American thoroughbred as at best only 
a second rate descendant of his English ancestors and 
regarded American turf practices as innovations that 
were altogether reprehensible. 

Differences between the English and the American 
turf have, for a century at least, been of a thoroughly 
ingrained character, and it was these ditTerences that 
were the primal cause of the utter disregard of American 
racing by Englishmen generally, while at the same time 



119 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



they were the seed th:it was to lead ultimately to some of 
the most interesting and most important practical tests, 
regarding the respective superiority of the two great f;imi- 
lies of horses. While quarter-racing was the particular 
form of sport which first developed in this country, it was 
not long, as we have seen, in previous chapters, be- 
fore horsemen began to find their greatest pleasure in 
races for greater distances, such as two, three and four- 
mile heats. Soon these long-distance contests became 
not only predominant, but were the sole and distinguish- 
ing characteristic of the American turf. 

Throughout the first half of the present century, 
Americans still continued to lay stress upon the quality 
of endurance, as well as of speed, in their thoroughbreds. 
The favorite style of race long remained to be the popu- 
lar four-mile heat, in which the great champions of several 
generations won their finest laurels. These races often 
made a swift succession of twelve miles and were some- 
times increased to sixteen or even twenty miles, calling 
for the greatest endurance and speed. A horse was not 
considered first-class unless he could run in four-mile 
heats and perhaps repeat within a week. In the esti- 
mation of turfmen he must needs be a four-miler and 
able to repeat, or was nowhere. Just as a trotter in 
those days was obliged to be able to strike at least a 
2:40 pace, if he hoped to maintain his standing on the 
track, so a thoroughbred was called upon to run his 
four-mile heats, or be relegated to a place in the third- 
class. 

With occasional e.xceptions the races were all weight- 
for-age, with a view of giving the best animal of his 
years the reward of merit, while the handicap, which was 
then the prevailing race in Britain and has since come 
into favor in this country, was almost unknown. It was 
generally considered, in those days, that the handicap 
system, instead of encouraging improvement offered a 
protection, if not a premium, to mediocrity. Loading- 
down a noble courser who had proved his fleetness in 
many a well-contested field with weight enough to 
make him lag behind an animal ot inferior quality was 
not a proceeding that was regarded with favor bv many 
conscientious turfmen. There were not lacking those 
who freely called this practice an abuse of speed and a 
persecution rather than a reward of merit, and as being 
likely, in the long run, to conduce to the deterioration of 
the thoroughbred. All breeding and training at that 
time on American soil tended most decisively against 
this system or anything at all savoring of it. 

An entirely contrary condition of things existed in 
England. There the traditions and the practices of the 
turf were in favor of quick, sharp work on the part of 
their racers. English horsemen had never shown any 
kindly disposition toward racing in heats, and in their 
single-heat race.s had constantly and consistently favored 



short distances. Even as it is now, the single dash 
was their general custom, and very rarely was this for a 
four-miles' distance; for the most part they contented 
themselves with two and two and a half miles as the ex- 
treme limit, and most of their races were even at shorter 
distances. This difference in practice brought our Ameri- 
can turf most strikingly in contrast with that of England 
and provoked an animated controversy over the relative 
merits of the two systems. 

The comparative stoutness and speed of English and 
American thoroughbreds was thus a prevailing topic of 
consideration among turfmen generally, and for a quar- 
ter of a century or more different methods of running, 
weighting and timing horses that were prevalent in the 
two countries, were variously considered according to 
the point of view of the disputants, while abundant 
statistics were constantly evolved in support of the dif- 
ferent propositions. It must be contessed, however, 
that the result of all this discussion was not fruitful in 
definite conclusions. Almost evei'ything was arithmetic- 
ally proved by both sides; little or nothing was actually 
determined. The fact that, between the thoroughbred 
of the two countries, the advantage is, on the whole, 
imperceptible, notwithstanding different racing methods, 
was not recognized then and you could not convince the 
ardent tuifman, be he English or American, that there 
was the slightest tenable ground for this proposition, let 
alone any argument to support it. 

Ultimately, then, the question became, in the eyes of 
the racing community of the two countries, what horse 
or horses should be considered the first class, those 
which headed the turf in America or those which headed 
it in England. It was forcibly argued that the great 
number of horses run in almost every race in England, 
the severity of their courses and the slashing style in 
which the races were run, made it much more difficult 
foi' the horses to rise to the foremost rank there than in 
this country. Furthermore, the English did not permit 
us to lose sight of the fact that on their tight little island 
they had more races in one month than were held in the 
United States throughout the whole year: that they had 
many times the number of thoroughbreds constantly in 
training and that several times more money each year 
in public purses alone was held up as reward for their 
breeders and owners. And it was added, as an inevit- 
able deduction from these recognized facts, that the 
horse which headed the English turf indisputably headed 
all others in the world, since he had run against and 
defeated the pick of more race horses than the rest ot 
mankind owned altogether. 

On the American side of the argument it was pointed 
out as a somewhat significant fact that none of the great 
English thoroughbreds who had been brought into this 
country since we began to produce good horses, had 



THE AMERICAN TUKI' 



ever been able to contend with any dei;;iee of success 
against our home bred stock and tliat, too, aUiiough 
manv of them had been winners of the greatest prizes 
of the English turf, not even excepting the Derby. 
Hmpiiasis was also laid upon the recognized fact that the 
much praised fleet Arabian, who w.is the foundation of 
the English thoroughbred, had been far outclassed by 
his progeny, who were the result of grafting his stock 
upon the native English horse. From this it was argued 
that history might repeat itself in showing a similar 
advanced development to be secured by grafting the 
English thoroughbred upon purely American stock. 

As a matter of pure assertion, it was freely and 
emphatically declared by the devoted partisans of the 
American high-mettled racer, that he was unc]uestion- 
ably the superior, both in speed and bottom, of the 
English racer, and comparative time records of the two 
were abundantly cited in support of this contention. 
Finally the confidence of American breeders and owners 
in the blood and staunchness of their horses had become 
so firmly seated and so widely extended, that little doubt 
was entertained in any quarter of this country among 
horsemen that, though the English horses might, perhaps, 
excel as regards speed for the shoit dashes to which 
racing had already been reduced on that side of the 
Atlantic, our animals were unquestionably superior in 
those contests which called for bottom and reserved 
power. 

Thus, the question had for a long time engaged the 
attention of horse lovers of the United States. The con- 
troversy, supported by such arguments as those just 
quoted, and others of a more specific character, waged 
warm on this side of the Atlantic, at least. It must be 
confessed, however, that on the other side of the water, 
not much serious attention had as yet been given to the 
subject. English turfmen, with that supreme confidence 
in the superiority of their national institution that has 
always been characteristic of them, had, as a rule, 
affected to consider the matter of little consequence, 
principally upon the ground that there could not 
even be a question of the superiority of their methods 
and their horses. To their minds, the point at issue had 
long been settled, and by themselves, in their own 
favor. They had yet to make the acquaintance of 
American bred horses, and to acquire a respect for them, 
based on actual experience of their ability. So far, the 
problem was merely a theoretical one, and naturally 
American breeders were not content to rest easy under 
the implication of their brother turfmen of England that 
there was only one side to the case, and that was the 
English. As the time went by it became more and more 
apparent that there could be no other way of determining 
the actual rigiit or wrong of these opposing opinions, ex- 
cept by putting the matter to the supreme test and arraying 



horse against horse. From these conclusions on the 
part of American turfmen developed one of the most 
interesting and most important features of the tuif of 
England and America in the closing half of the nineteenth 
century. 

At the time when this controversy reached its height, 
nearly half a century ago, Mr. Richard Ten Broeck, who 
was then the owner of the great Lexington, held as 
high rank as any man in turf circles of this country 
for his enterprise, skill and complete knowledge of the 
thoroughbred. He felt that the hour had arrived when 
the American turf had become an institution of such 
importance that it had earned the right to demand some- 
thing more than the mere scant attention that had, up to 
this date, been given to it by English sportsmen. 
Accoidingly he determined to contest honors with Eng- 
lish horses upon their own ground, and went about 
laying his plans to that end. The co-operation of other 
American turfmen was secured, and Mr. Francis Morris, 
of New York, gave the financial backing to the enterprise 
that was necessary for carying it out. In 1856, Mr. Ten 
Broeck crossed the ocean, having already given consid- 
erable time to the stLidy of racing conditions there, and 
having arranged to enter several American horses in the 
classical events in Great Britian. This memorable enter- 
piise has become historic and is a conspicuous mile post 
in the history of the American turf. 

Mr. Ten Broeck had, in his string, three horses that 
were already regarded as being entitled to stand in the 
first class of American thoroughbreds. Lecomte. by 
Boston out of Reel, was then six years old. and remem- 
brance of his brilliant contests with his great half- 
brother, Lexington, was still fresh in the public mind. 
Pryor, by imported (ilencoe out of Gypsey by Eclipse, 
was only a four-year old and had several important vic- 
tories to his credit. The third horse was Prioress, a 
three-year old, by imported Sovereign out of Reel, 
being, therefore, a half sister of Lecomte. In her two- 
year old form she won two out of the three races in 
which she was entered. In the Equus Stakes, mile 
heats, over the Metairie Course, she easily won in two 
straight heats in 1 minute, 46J4 seconds and i minute. 
45 second, beating a Glencoe filly out of Blue Filly, a 
Lucy Dashwood colt, and L'lngot U'Or. On the same 
course she also won a mile heat race in i minute, 47 
seconds and i minute. 46'2 seconds, again beating the 
Lucy Dashwood colt. Upon the Fashion Course. Long 
Island, she was beaten tor the Association Stakes, mile 
heats, by Nicholas 1. in two straight heats. She was 
regarded as one of the most piomising fillies on the 
American turf. Another horse was subsequently added 
to the string, the three-year old chestnut colt. Balnion. 
by imported Belshazzar out of a dam by imported 
Trustee. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The principnl engagements of Mr. Ten Broeck in the 
first year of his campaign on English soil were with 
Pryor and i^rioress for the Goodwood Cup; Lecomte and 
Prioress for the Champagne Stakes at Brighton; Lecomte 
and i'rioress for the Sussex County Cup; Prioress for the 
Chesterfield Handicap; Pryor and Prioress tor the Royal 
Plate at the Hereford Meeting; Pryor, Prioress and 
Lecomte for the Warwick Cup at Warwick; Prioress for 
the Leamington Stakes at Warwick; Babylon for the 
Great Yorkshire Handicap at the Doncaster Meeting 
over the Doncaster St. Leger Course, and Lecomte and 
Pryor for a four-mile sweepstakes for all ages at the New- 
market Houghton Meeting. Disaster attended Mr. Ten 
Broeck's venture from the outset. His horses did not 
become acclimated, so as to make good running, they 
were not well cared for by the trainer, and the much- 
vaunted British love of fair play was scantily manifested 
toward them. In none of the earlier events of the season 
were the American horses able to make any show- 
ing and yet. despite the discouraging conditions under 
which they ran, they e,xhibited a form that compelled 
even the unwilling acknowledgment from the English 
turl writers that there might be something in them after 
all when they should be in condition. 

At last, however, victory came to the stable in the 
most important event of the season, when, in October, 
Prioress won the Cesarewitch, 2 miles, 2 furlongs, 28 
yards. The daughter of Sovereign had only recovered 
her true form a day or two previous to this race, and 
under new and improved training all her best and latent 
qualities were brought out. The race was run twice, 
the time being 4 minutes, 9 seconds and 4 minutes, 14 
seconds. El Harkim, Qiieen Bess, Fright and thirty 
other horses were also in the running. Upon the first 
trial there was a dead heat between Prioress, Queen Bess 
and El Harkim. The second heat was won by the Amer- 
ican horse by a length and a half over El Harkim and 
Queen Bess, the latter lacking only a head of being sec- 
ond. By this victory. Mr. Ten Broeck recouped himself 
for the losses that he had sustained thus far in the sea- 
son and was able to put a comfortable sum to the credit 
of his enterprise as a whole. 

But further disaster overtook the stable. Lecomte, 
who had never got fully acclimated, was seized with 
colic in his stable, at Stockbridge, Hampshire, and died 
in October, 1857. He had been able to start only once 
in England, for the Warwick Cup, when he was beaten 
by the English crack. Fisherman, and pulled up very 
lame after the race. Less than three weeks later Pryor 
fell a victim to an attack of lung fever, which all the best 
veterinary skill of London was unable to repress. His 
death left Mr. Ten Broeck's stable severely crippled, for 
Pryor was generally regarded as his most promising and 
trustworthy animal. 



Notwithstanding all the disappointments and ill luck 
that had attended him, Mr. Ten Broeck bravely held his 
position as the exemplar and representative of the 
American turf on English ground and entered with cour- 
age upon a second season in 1858. He reinforced his 
stable with the successful stallion, Charleston, by im- 
ported Sovereign out of Milwood by Monarch and also 
added Woodburn and Bonita and several English horses 
to his string. His principal engagements with his 
American horses were Woodburn for the Levant Stakes, 
Babylon for the Stewards' Cup and the Chesterfield Cup, 
Charleston and Prioress for the Goodwood Cup, and 
Bonita for the Malcolm Stakes, all at the July Goodwood 
Meeting; Babylon for the Marine Plate and Claret Stakes 
at Brighton; Babylon for the Chesterfield Handicap at 
York, for the Town Plate at Epsom, the Royal Hunt Cup 
at Ascot, the Members' Plate at Stockton and the Port- 
land Plate at Doncaster; Prioress and Charleston for the 
great Ebor Handicap Stakes at York; Prioress for the 
great Yorkshire Handicap at Doncaster, the Cesarewitch 
Handicap at Newmarket and the Cambridgeshire Stakes 
at Newmarket, and Prioress, Woodburn, Bonita and 
Babylon for several matches at Newmarket. 

The record of the season was not encouraging to those 
who had based hopes upon the American horses. 
Babylon ran twelve times and won a single race. 
Prioress ran four times and won two races. Charleston, 
after running badly forthe Goodwood Cup, did not appear 
again. Bonita ran three times, winning twice. Wood- 
burn lost the only race in which he started. The total 
was twenty-one starts and five winnings for Mr. Ten 
Broeck, three of the winnings being matches, one by 
Prioress and two by Bonita. Babylon won the Chester- 
field Handicap against a field of eight. Prioress took 
the Great Yorkshire Handicap at Doncaster against a field 
of twelve, winning bv four lengths in 3 minutes, I5'2 
seconds. Her running in the Cesarewitch Stakes was 
almost a victory, since she lost only by a short neck, the 
time of the race being 5 minutes, 59 seconds. As in 
the previous year, the performances of Mr. Ten Broeck's 
horses for i8s8 were briefly summed up in the simple 
declaration, that " the American horses, which have thus 
far performed in England, have not proved the race horse 
of America to be the equal of the race horse of the English 
turf." The ardor of the American backers of Mr. Ten 
Broeck was by no means diminished by these reverses, 
however, and a third season was energetically entered 
upon. 

In 18S9, Mr. Ten Broeck ran Prioress, Babylon, Starke, 
Woodburn. Umpire, Optimist and Satellite. The burden 
of work was placed upon Prioress, Babylon, Starke and 
Woodburn. The first named was the most successful, 
winning five races out of eleven and landing for her 
owner the sum of $5,530. Starke was less successful 
122 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



in the number of races that he succeeded in winning, 
taking only three out of ten. His winnings, however, 
were more than double those of his stable companion, 
amounting to $13,^10. Babylon won only $22S in one 
race, losing eight races. Woodburn won a single race, 
valued at $1,673. and lost ten races. Umpire won $4,2^7, 
in the three races that he was successful out of the live 
in which he was entered. Optimist lost all four of the 
r.icos in which he was entered, and Satellite the one 
race that he ran. 

Prioress, who was then six years old, won a match at 
the Newmarket Craven Meeting against Count Batthy- 
anv's Olympus, ditch-mile, seven furlon;|s, 201 yards, in 
I minute, 56 seconds. At the Newmarket First Spring 
Meeting she won the Queen's Plate over the round 
course, 3 miles, 4 furlongs, 139 yards, beating Polestar 
and Target. At the Epsom Summer Meeting she won 
the Qiieen's Plate, 2'.- miles, in 4 minutes, 20 seconds, 
beating Archduchess, Julie and others. At the New- 
market Houghton Meeting she beat by twenty lengths. 
Lord Glasgow's Toxopholite over the Rowley mile, i 
mile, 17 yards, in 1 minute, ss seconds. At the same 
meeting she beat by six lengths Lord Clasgow's Ted- 
dington, across the flat, in 2 minutes, 20 seconds. She 
was defeated for the Tradesmen's Plate at Chester and 
the Stewards' Cup at the same meeting, for the Good- 
wood Cup at Goodwood and the Bentinck Memorial 
Plate at the same meeting, the Cesarewitch Stakes at the 
Newmarket Second October Meeting and the Cambridge- 
shire Stakes at the Newmarket Houghton Meeting. The 
winning race of Babylon was a Handicap Sweepstakes, 
half a mile, at Lewes. He was beaten for the Bristol 
Plate Handicap at Brighton, the Grand Stand Plate at 
Lewes, the Bedfordshire Stakes Handicap at Bedford. 
and in other events. 

Starke was not successful until July, when he achieved 
two splendid victories. On July 27, he won the Good- 
wood Stakes Handicap, 2>^ miles, beating Lifeboat by 
half a length. Bluejacket being a bad third, and Heiress 
fourth, while thirteen others were not placed. His 
time was 4 minutes, 32 seconds. Two days later, at the 
same meeting, he won the Bentinck Memorial Plate 
Handicap, 2 miles, 3 furlongs, 97 yards, beating, by six 
lengths. Compromise, who was a head before Prioress, 
the latter being a neck in advance of Rouble, while 
eleven other horses were not placed. Starke's only 
other victory this season was at Warwick in September, 
when he won the Warwick Cup. 3 miles, beating Liv- 
eryman and Lifeboat. The principal events in which he 
was entered and was not successful, were the Rdyal 
Stand Plate at Ascot Heath, the Great Ebor Handicap at 
York and the Cesarewitch at the Ni-vvmarket Second 
October Meeting. The single race won by Woodburn 
was the Harry Fowler Handicap, 3 furlongs, at Stock- 



ton. In nearly all the other nine events in which he 
was entered he did not even succeed in being pl.iced. 

Umpire won the Nursery Stakes Handicap, one mile, 
at Goodwood in July, thus enabling his owner to carry 
off three of the prizes of this meeting, adding his 
triumph to those of Starke. In this handicap he beat, 
by seven lengths. Longbow and, by eleven lengths. Be 
Quick, while nineteen other horses ran unplaced. His 
time was i minute, 49 seconds. In August at Stock- 
ton he won the Cleveland Stakes for two-year olds, 
thiic-quaiters of a mile, beating High Treason and ten 
others. The following day at the same meeting, he 
won the third Zetland Biennial Stakes for two-year 
olds, about s furlongs, again defeating High Treason 
and others. Mr. R. Hanlan, who accompanied Mr. Ten 
Broeck, was less successful than his compatriot. He 
ran l)es Chiles, a brown filly, four years old, by im- 
ported Glencoe out of Brown Kitty; Lincoln, a chestnut 
colt, four years old, by imported Belshazzar out of a dam 
by imported Jordan, and (ancinnati. a brown colt, three 
years old, by Star Davis out of a dam by Uncle John. 
Des Chiles ran in three races, Lincoln in two and Cincin- 
nati in three. No one of them was successful. 

For several years more Mr. Ten Broeck remained in 
England meeting with varying success. Generallv, his 
horses failed to achieve the tiiumphs that were hoped 
for from them, or to substantially establish in the minds 
of English turfmen the full worth of the American 
thoroughbred. They were not, however, without 
victories now and then, that were at least suggestive of 
great possibilities. Umpire won several races and exhib- 
ited himself in such excellent form that he started in the 
Derby of i860 on even terms in the betting with Thor- 
manby, who was the winner. In 1S61, Mr. Ten Broeck's 
campaign was made especially brilliant by the capture of 
the Goodwood Cup by Starke. Both Starke and Opti- 
mist were entered for this event, and the two American 
horses ran first and third, respectively. Wizard being 
second. The struggle between Starke and Wizard was 
sharp, but the American horse was too much for his 
four-year old opponent and made a good finish, running 
the last quarter of a mile under the whip. 

Mr. Ten Broeck remained abroad until the revival of 
racing in this country, in the period following the Civil 
War. was already under way. Whatever opinion may 
be held, generally, regarding his venture, he had at least 
succeeded in breaking the ice so far as the indifference of 
English turfiiien and lacing authorities toward the turfin 
this coLintry was concerned. After his time, the ques- 
tion of the worth of the American thoroughbred was no 
longer dismissed in England as unentitled even to con- 
sideration, which had hitherto been the attitude of the 
English turf world. Since then there has been no dis- 
pute on the other side of the water that the United 



123 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



States stands on substantial footing witii tiie motiier 
country as regards tine possession of tliorouglibred stock 
and of tliat true spirit of racing wliicii makes tlie constant 
improvement of tiie breed a matter on wliicli expense 
and care are in no way stinted, it was not, liowever, 
until a quarter of a century later, and as a result of the 
patriotism of later American owners, that the complete 
demonstration of the full equality of the American 
thoroughbred with his English compeer was demon- 
strated beyond the possibility of cavil and in a manner 
that commanded the admiration of the sporting world of 
two continents. 

Nearly two decades after Mr. Ten Broeck's venture. 
Mi: M. H. Sanford followed in his footsteps. In 187s, 
Mr. Sanford crossed the Atlantic, taking with him his 
great stallion Preakness and seven other American 
thoroughbreds, including Mate, Bay Final. Brown Prince, 
Egotist, Donna, Start and Bay Eagle. Preakness, Mate 
and Bay Final were aged, but Preakness was believed 
to hold out the most promise of success, his great 
victories in the United States in previous seasons having 
already given him an established reputation for stamina, 
speed and reliability. Preakness was by Lexington out 
of Bay Leaf by imported Yorkshire. Mate was by 
imported Australian out of Mattie Gross, who was a 
Lexington tilly. Bay Final was an own brother to 
Preakness. Bay Eagle and Egotist were own brothers, 
being by Bay Wood out of Earring by Ringgold. Start 
was by imported Glenelg out of Stamps, a Lexington 
mare. Donna was by Haywood out of Dot by Mad 
Anthony. Brown Prince was by Lexington out of 
imported Britannia IV. by Flying Dutchman. Bay 
Eagle, Egotist, Start, Donna and Brown Prince were 
two-year olds and were believed to be full of promise. 
Brown Prince, in 1876. was regarded as one of the best 
two-year olds of that season at Newmarket. 

In the first season Mr. Sanford's principal entries were 
Preakness for the Newmarket International Handicap; 
Mate in the Newmarket Handicap and the City and 
Suburban Handicap at Epsom ; Bay Fmal in the City 
and Suburban Handicap and the great Metropolitan 
Handicap at Epsom; Bay Eagle in the Prince of Wales' 
Stakes and the Derby at Epsom and the Scarbor- 
ough Stakes at Doncaster, and Start in a two-year 
old sweepstake at Scarborough. This season was prac- 
tically a failure, although Bay Final won the Dillingham 
Handicap at the Newmarket Houghton Meeting. In 
1877, Mr. Sanford had several small successes. Donna 
winning a handicap stakes at the Newmarket Craven 
Meeting, and Brown Prince taking a plate over the 
Rowley Mile. In this last event Brown Prince did so 
well, winning a good race by half a length, that he 
became a great favorite for the future events in which he 
was entered, the Derby, Grand Prix of Paris and Don- 



caster St. Leger. Some enthusiasts even backed him at 
long odds to win the Derby. 

The great success of the season, however, was later 
on at the Spring Newmarket Meeting, when Brown 
Prince ran second to Chamant for the Two Thousand 
Guineas, beating Silvio, Thunderstone, Monk, War- 
ren Hastings, Monachus, Morier and Strachino. Al- 
though Mr. Sanford continued in England until 1881, 
his success was in nowise marked. From time to time 
he took over other American horses, but none of them 
performed sufficiently well to entitle them to first rank 
with the English champions or to give to Mr. Sanford's 
enterprise the successl'ul character which he had hoped 
for and through which he aimed, as had Mr. Ten Broeck 
before him. to impress upon the English mind the merit 
of the American thoroughbred. 

Since the time that Mr. Sanford terminated his English 
racing career American thoroughbreds have been gradu- 
ally making their way upon the turf in the Old World, 
until in recent years their appearances there have been 
so numerous and their successes so frequent and so con- 
spicuous that they have established themselves firmly in 
the approval of turfmen, not alone in this country, but 
abroad as well. It is now recognized as never before 
that for speed, endurance and gameness, the American 
horse is a worthy compeer of his English rival. On 
many a hard fought battlefield he has shown his prowess 
and has carried off the highest honors that the English 
turf or the French turf has liad to bestow upon its equine 
heroes. The question of the relative merits of the thor- 
oughbreds of the two nationalities is still open to dis- 
cussion and opinions vary upon the matter. Never- 
theless, the American thoroughbred is no longer looked 
down upon by English critics, and his substantial stand- 
ing is frankly recognized, even though the opinion that 
he is not quite equal to the product of the English stud 
still may be strenuously held by our English cousins. 

Mr. Pierre Lorillard, who began his racing career on 
the English turf in 1879, must be regarded as the pioneer 
in bringing about this very marked change in the atti- 
tude of the English turf toward its trans- Atlantic rival. 
Mr. Lorillard went abroad in the autumn of 1878, taking 
with him eight representative American thoroughbreds. 
At the head of the string was the brown gelding Parole 
by imported Leamington out of Maiden by Lexington, 
his grandam by Kitty Clark by imported Glencoe. Sec- 
ond on his list was the bay colt Uncas by Lexington, 
out of Coral by Vandal, his grandam being imported 
Cairn Gorme by Cotherstone. Then there was the bay 
colt Friar by imported Saxon, out of Fanny Washington 
by Revenue, his grandam being Sarah Washington by 
Garrison's Zinganee; the bay colt Boreas by imported 
Saxon out of Nellie Grey by Lexington, his grandam 
being Fenella by imported Glencoe; the bay colt Chero- 
124 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



kee by imported Saxon out of Fanny Ludlow by im- 
poitcd Hclipse, his giandam being Moilie Jackson by 
Vandal; the chestnut filly Pappoose by imported Leam- 
ington out of Maiden by Lexington, her grandam being 
Kitty Clark by imported Glencoe; the bay filly Nereid 
by imported Saxon out of imported Highland Lassie by 
Blair Athol, her grandam being Rupee by the Nabob; 
and the bay filly Geraldine by imported Saxon out of 
Ciirl of the Period by Virgil, her grandam being Nannie 
Butler by Lexington. 

It will be observed that, of these eight horses, five of 
them were descendants of the famous Lexington, one of 
them being a son. The blood of Vandal, Glencoe, 
Revenue. Eclipse, Virgil and other great sires of the 
early American turf was also represented. Two of the 
string were by imported Leamington and five bv im- 
poited Saxon, one only, Uncas by Lexington, being 
the get of a distinctively American horse. Doubts 
were expressed about the ability of Parole to hold his 
own in the English field, notwithstanding his success 
in his native land. Uncas was regarded with more 
confidence. Parole was then live years old, while Uncas 
was two, and the others were yearlings. The young- 
sters were verv much admired, but. of course, little could 
be predicated concerning their future, for they were as 
yet untried. When the string left this coLuitry all the 
horses were well engaged except Parole. Uncas was in 
the Two Thousand Guineas, tiie Derby and the St. 
Leger of 187S and the Champion Stakes of 1880 at New- 
market. Cherokee, Pappoose, Nereid and Geraldine were 
in the July and the Chesterfield Stakes for two-year 
olds at Newmarket in 1879, and in the Richmond 
Stakes at Goodwood the following year. Cherokee, 
Boreas, and Friar were entered for the Derby and St. 
Leger in iSSo. and Pappoose, Geraldine and Nereid in 
the Oaks for the same year. 

The success of Mr. Lorillard was very pronounced 
from the outset and exceedingly gratifying to patriotic 
American turfmen, who had always had full faith in the 
American thoroughbred and in his ability to hold his own 
with the best racers of the world. Although Parole did 
not stir the Englishmen to enthusiasm while he was in 
training, he opened their eyes when he won the New- 
market Handicap in 1879, beating the famous Isonomy, 
who is to this day regarded by many as the greatest 
thoroughbred that ever ran on the turf in England or 
anywhere else. Then they were dumfounded when 
the brown son of Leamington followed up his first suc- 
cess by carrying ofTthe City and Suburban from a field 
of fifteen and by winning the Metropolitan Handicap and 
the Cheshire Handicap. Pappoose, as a two-year old, 
won the first race in which he was entered and Geraldine 
won the Levant Stakes at Goodwood. 

In 1880, Mr. Lorillard's stable was increased by the 



addition of Iroquois, Paw Paw and others. Meantime, 
Mr. James R. Keene had entered the field and America 
was further represented by Wallenstein, Foxhall, Book- 
maker Don Fulano, Nereid and Aristocrat, all of whom 
were winners. The following year, 1881, witnessed the 
signal triumph of the Americans, when Iroquois won 
the Derby, the St. James Palace Stakes and the St. 
Leger, while Foxhall carried off the Grand Prix at Paris 
and the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire Stakes. Fox- 
hall's finish for the Grand Prix was one of the most mag- 
nificent that had ever been seen on the French Course. 
He was ridden by the great English jockey, Fordham, 
while Fred Archer rode his closest rival, the French colt, 
Tristan. As they came along the home stretch Tristan 
was slightly behind, but Archer rode his very best and 
lifted his horse almost even with Foxhall. A shout of 
Tristan! Tristan! rended the air fiom the throats of 
thousands of excited Frenchmen. The two horses, 
head by head, came down with a grand rush, past 
the jockey club stand, and it was either one's race. 
For the first time Fordham raised his whip. A single 
sharp cut on the shoulder of Foxhall was answered by 
a grand leap forward from the noble thoroughbred, and 
in the fraction of a second the Grand Prix, with its 
160,000 fYancs, was won. In 1882, Foxhall adiied the 
Ascot Gold Cup to his other prizes, and Wallenstein 
won the Manchester Cup, one and three-quarter miles, 
worth .$15,000, while Passaic. Aranza. Sachem. Brake- 
speare, Mehallah, Jolly, Sir John, Golden Gate, Abbots- 
ford, North Star, Lady Jane and Aristocrat were other 
horses that carried the colors of their American owners 
bravely to the front. 

At last the American horse could no longer be ignored 
by English turfmen. Henceforth he was a quantity that 
demanded serious recognition. His many sweeping 
victories at the historic racing centres of England forced 
him more and more into public attention during this 
period from 1879 to 1882, both inclusive, that was a 
momentous one for American turfmen and that was rich 
with results at once gratifying and inspiring. The fame 
and merit of the American thoroughbred were finally and 
successfully established. During these four years there 
were not less than fifteen or sixteen prominent Ameri- 
can horses that appeared in the various meetings 
throughout Great Britain. It has been estimated that 
their winnings were close upon $3oo,cxx), which must 
be regarded as a very respectable sum when we take 
into consideration the large fields against which they 
were compelled to run, and the tremendous disadvan- 
tages arising from differences in climate and racing 
methods, than those of their native land under which 
they labored. 

Parole and Pappoose led the American string in 1879, 
and in 1880 seven Americans, Iroquois, Paw Paw, 



125 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Wiillenstein. Foxhall, Bookmaker, Don Fulano, Nereid 
and Aristocrat carried off about $29,000. In 1881, 
Iroquois, Foxhall and others took up something over 
$162,000. It was not easy for the Americans to keep 
the pace which they had fixed for themselves, and to 
retain the high position to which Iroquois and Fox- 
hall had elevated them. Beginning with 1882, there 
was a decided falling off in the American contin- 
gent, and the glories of Iroquois, Foxhall and their 
companions became somewhat dim. The American 
stables gradually made less and less impression upon 
England, although Mr. Lorillard was still in the field and 
Iroquois continued to win occasionally. It was some- 
what compensating, however, to Yankee patriotism 
that upon many occasions the horses that represented 
this country were beaten by others who were of our 
own breeding, but who had passed into the possession 
of English turfmen. This was very practical evidence of 
a decided change of opinion toward American horses 
and showed the high esteem in which they had tlnallv 
come to be held. 

In i8q2, Fiddler, son of that staunch old American 
stallion, Preakness. captured the Newmarket Biennial 
and the Great Metropolitan. Passaic, formerly an inmate 
of Mr. Lorillard's stable, achieved a victory for his native 
land, as well as for his adopted country, by winning the 
City and Suburban, one of the most celebrated of the 
great English spring handicaps. Passaic had become the 
property of an English owner, having been disposed of 
some six months previously. He was eminently a 
representative American horse, brother to the celebrated 
racing filly Thora. His sire was Longfellow by imported 
Leamington, and his dam Jury by Lexington, a combina- 
tion of two strains of blood, than which none has been 
more phenomenally successful in the annals of the 
American turf His grandam was Roxana by imported 
Chesterfield. As a two-year old, he was not at all suc- 
cessful, but he was afterward regarded as an even 
competitor with Iroquois. His performances, however, 
failed to justify the expectations that were based upon 
him, and he was finally sold out of the stable as a piece 
of deadwood, only to turn the tables upon his former 
owner by winning the City and Suburban in the 
following spring. 

The three American horses that in Europe stood pre- 
eminent in distinction during the period which we 
have had under consideration are more thoroughly 
identified with the English turf than with that of their 
native land. Their victories added lustre to the annals 
of the American turf, but the record of their careers 
belongs almost entirely to the racing calendar of the 
mother county. Of this trio, none has been more 
famous than Iroquois, who achieved the supreme dis- 
tinction of being the only American thoroughbred who 



has won the Derby, the Blue Ribbon of the English turf. 
He occupies the unique position of being an American 
horse whose entire racing career was confined to the 
English turf, while his contributions to the American 
turl have been alone through his progeny, several of 
whom are to be included among the finest thorough- 
breds of this generation. Probably no horse, if we 
except possibly Foxhall, ever achieved a greater reputa- 
tion that made him known throughout the entire world, 
his success in winning the Derby having placed him, so 
far as public estimation is concerned, in a class entirely 
by himself 

Iroquois was bred by Mr. Aristides Welch, proprietor 
of the Erdenheim Stud, at Chestnut Hill, near Philadel- 
phia. His sire was Leamington and his dam Maggie B. 
B., who was by Australian. Thus on both sides he 
traced to English thoroughbred families of the highest 
class, one of which was of the past generation, while the 
other has come into prominence in comparatively recent 
times. He was a brown colt, with blaze face and near 
hind ankles white above the pastern. Of substantial 
muscular build, he had a rare blood- like appearance and 
showed all the quality of his high breeding, and as a 
yearling gave abundant promise of a great future. Pur- 
chased as a yearling by Mr. Pierre Lorillard, the follow- 
ing year, he was shipped to Europe as one of the mem- 
bers of Mr. Lorillard's string to struggle with the English 
thoroughbreds on their own ground. The English paid 
little or no attention to him while he was in training at 
Newmarket, where he was placed as soon as he arrived 
in the Old Country. 

When he came to the post at Newmarket in 1880, 
for the two-year old plate, t furlongs, not much was 
expected of him and he surprised the talent by coming 
in an easy winner, beating Herman, Red King and 
others. At the Epsom Summer Meeting he ran unplaced 
to Angelina first and Wandering Nun second, but at the 
same meeting two days later, he won a two-year old 
stake, s furlongs. At Ascot in June he ran unplaced to 
Sir Charles, Tristan and Angelina, and at Newmarket in 
July ran second to Bal Gal for the July Stakes, and won 
the Chesterfield Stakes, defeating Panique, Voluptuary 
and others. At the second Sandown Summer Meeting 
he ran unplaced to King of Scotland, Montrose and 
others for the Kingston Plate; at Goodwood, in July, 
won the Levant Stakes, defeating Isola, Madre and others, 
and at the same meeting was second to Wandering Nun 
for the Findon Stakes. In the fall meetings he ran un- 
placed for the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, for the 
Hopeful Stakes at the Newmarket First October Meet- 
ing and for the Clearwell Stakes at the Newmarket 
Second October Meeting. On the whole, his success 
during this first season was fairly satisfactory and some- 
what surprising to the English turfmen, although it was 



126 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Erenerally conceded that he had not been well handled or 
well ridden and became stale toward the latter end of 
the season for having been too heavily worked. 

His failures in the latter part of the season lost him in 
a large measure the favor that had been accorded lo him 
for his earlier work, and Fnglish critics were inclined to 
place comparatively little dependence upon him for his 
three-year old form. During the winter, however, he 
had a generous rest and was brought well into con- 
dition before the spring opened, the quickness with 
which he recovered being a well-known characteristic 
inherited from his sire. He was liberally engaged for 
the season of 1881, but no one outside his own stable 
expected brilliant performances from him. He started 
in by running second for the Two Thousand Guineas 
at Newmarket, but this was rather a good beginning, 
for he left behind him the flower of the English turf. 
Although defeated, his running called general attention 
to him and probably few were surprised when two days 
later he won the Newmarket Stakes, defeating Lord Fal- 
mouth's l.ennoxlove. In the second Newmarket Meet- 
ing he walked over for the Burwell Stakes, and there- 
after began to be looked upon with considerable favor, 
although it was scarcely expected that he had much 
chance for the Epsom Derby, for which he was next 
entered. 

His great achievement that forever established his repu- 
tation and that astounded all England was at the Epsom 
Summer Meeting in June, 1881, when he won that 
prize of the English turf, carrying off the Derby from a 
field of fifteen, being an easy winner over Peregrine, 
second, and Town Moor, third. Afterward he won the 
Prince of Wales Stakes at Ascot, thus accomplishing a 
feat that had never yet been put down to the credit of 
an English Derby winner. Later in the season he also 
won the St. Leger, at Doncaster, thus entering a class of 
winners of the two classic events of the English turf, the 
Derby and the St. Leger, in one season. In this class 
only nine horses had ever been able to stand. Cham- 
pion, 1800; Surplus, 1848; Flying Dutchman, 1849; Vol- 
tiguer, 1830; West Australian, 1833; l^'-'"' Athol, 1864; 
Gladiateur, 1865; Lord Lyon, 1866; Silver, 1877, and Iro- 
quois, 1 88 1. There was no question now, even in the 
minds of conservative Englishmen, that Iroquois was 
one of the greatest horses, not only of his generation, 
but of all the modern time. In thus adding the white 
ribbon to the blue, he had done what such great horses 
as Mameluke, Priam, Hermit, Doncaster and others had 
attempted and fiiiled. As a two-year old he started 
twelve times and won four races. As a three-year old 
he won four out of the tlve races in which he started. 

His work upon the English turf in 1881 practically closed 
his career as a race horse. In 1S82, he was not started, 
owing to his having fallen off in condition. The following 



year he started three times, running third in one race and 
being unplaced in the remaining two. He was then with- 
drawn from the turf and sent back to the United States, 
where he increased the reputation of his name by the 
great sons and daughters that he produced in the ensu- 
ing years. Among his progeny, who have distinguished 
themselves, special note may be made of such good ones 
as Senator Grady, Huron, Tammany, Mohican, Helen 
Nichols and Red Banner. In several years these and 
others of the Iroquois descendants have been included in 
the list of those who have been the greatest winners in 
this country. Few American thoroughbreds have thus 
united to a greater degree than he the glory of tran- 
scendent achievements on the turf with the fame derived 
from the wonderful performances of sons and daughters. 

Until 1865 no foreigner had been able to carry off the 
famous Blue Ribbon of the turf from the English stables 
at Epsom. From the foundation of the Derby, in 1780. 
when Sir Charles Bunbury's Dioined came in at the 
head of a lield of nine starters, the Englishmen had 
every year succeeded in keeping the prize at home. In 
the long list of winning owners were representatives of 
every class of English sporting men, from royal dukes to 
those in the humblest walks of life. It fell to a French 
horse to break the record that had stood for eighty-five 
years, when, in 1863, The Comte de Le Grange's mag- 
nificent Gladiateur won the great prize in a common 
canter. Gladiateur was a bay with black legs, 16 
hands high, powerful in his shoulders, and showing 
muscle and strength in every motion. He not only 
carried off the Derby, but also won the Two Thousand 
Guineas, the Grand Prix of Paris, and the St. Leger, 
being the only horse who ever had those four victories 
to his credit. As a four-year old, his best race was for 
the Ascot Cup, when he defeated Regalia and Breadalbane. 

After Gladiateur it was eleven years before another 
foreigner succeeded in carrying off the Derby. On this 
occasion Kisber, the victor, was a horse from Hungary. 
His sire was Buccaneer, and his dam Mineral. He was 
bred at the Great Imperial Royal Stud farm at Kisber. 
and was considered the greatest horse in that establish- 
ment. The Kisber farm extended over 13,648 acres, 
and was under the direct management of Count Zoest, 
all the work upon it being done by soldiers of the 
Austrian-Hungarian Army. Kisber was 13 hands, } 
inches high, a hard bay with a ruddy tinge and black 
points. As a two-year old, previous to his Derby race, 
he had been successful in only one of the four occasions 
upon which he was started, and, in the betting on the 
Derby, was not held in high esteem nor regarded as 
particularly dangerous. These two victories of Gladia- 
teur and Kisber were all that stood to the credit of 
foreign horses until 1881, when Iroquois carried the 
American colors to the front, making himself the third 



127 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



foreign horse, ;ind the tirsl American, to carry off" the 
prize so dear to the hearts of racing men, whether they 
be of English, American, or otlier nationality. 

Scarcely second to Iroquois in the brilliancy of his 
career was Parole. He had strains of three of the great- 
est American families, Glencoe, Lexington and Leaming- 
ton. He was foaled in 1873 in Mr. Aristides Welch's 
Erdenheim Stud, and, as as a yearling, was sold to Mr. 
Lorillard for $780. Notwithstanding his lofty lineage, his 
appearance did not commend him to expert turfmen, 
nor did he show himself to be of sufficient promise to 
warrant his entry into the early two and three-year old 
stakes. But he developed rapidly and well, and, in 
187s. was put into training and brought out. His suc- 
cess was immediate and was wholly unexpected, save 
to those who had opportunity to become most 
familiar with him. Out of the six races in which he 
took part he won four, his important victories being the 
Saratoga Stakes in i minute, 44|<( seconds, beating 
Adelaide, Sultana, Durango, Brother to Bassett, Blue- 
coat and others, and the All Aged Stakes, at Jerome 
Park, in :: minutes, 98 seconds, beating St. Martin, 
Warlock, Virginias and Rhadamanthus. 

He was entered for the Kentucky Derby in 1876, but 
was defeated by Vagrant, being completely beaten off. 
During most of that season he was out of condition and 
won only three of the seven races in which he was 
entered. Greatly improved in condition in the spring of 

1877, he made the best campaign of his life, running 
twelve races, eight of which he won. He captured the 
Saratoga Cup in 4 minutes, 4'4 seconds, beating Tom 
Ochiltree and Vera Cruz; the Grand Sweepstakes at 
Baltimore in 4 minutes, )"]% seconds, defeating Ten 
Broeck and Tom Ochiltree, and the Woodburn Stakes, 
the Summer Handicap and the Maturity Stakes. During 

1878, he ran eleven races, eight of which he won, includ- 
ing the Mnnmouth Cup. at Long Branch, in 4 minutes. 
9>2 seconds, beating Virginius, General Philips and Joe, 
and the Saratoga Cup, in 4 minutes, 8)-^ seconds, again 
beating the same horses. 

During his first season in England he was very suc- 
cessful. The official handicappers underestimated him 
and he was let into many important events at very light 
weight. He carried off honors in five of the eleven 
races which he run, among them being the Newmarket 
Handicap, the City and Suburban, the Great Metropolitan 
and the Great Cheshire Stakes and the Epsom Gold Cup. 
He was defeated for the Ascot Stakes at Ascot. The 
following season the handicappers went to the other 
extreme and loaded him so heavily that it was im- 
possible for him to accomplish anything. He was run 
in ten races in 1880 without making a single winning 
and was then returned to the United States, in the 
latter part of the season in this country he won four 



races. In the six years that he was on the turf, includ- 
ing 1880, he ran 61 races, of which he won 32. 

Foxhall, the third horse of this trio of American 
thoroughbreds that gained celebrity in England, was 
foaled in 1878. He was got by King Alfonso out of 
Jamaica. His sire was by imported Phaeton out of Cap- 
itola and on this line he traced to King Tom, Vandal, 
Harkaway, Pocahontas, imported Glencoe and back to 
the great English families of thoroughbreds, who will 
be readily recognized. Jamaica, the dam of Foxhall 
was by Lexington out of Fanny Ludlow, the latter being 
by imported Eclipse out of Mollie Jackson, daughter of 
Vandal and Emma Wiight. Foxhall was bred by Mr. 
A. J. Alexander and was sold to Mr. James R. Keene as 
a yearling. In 1880, with Lord Murphy, Spendthrift and 
other promising two-year olds he was sent to England. 
At the outset he attracted comparatively little attention, 
and the English authorities decidedly underrated him. 
Illness overtook him and he did not make his appearance 
on the tui'f until October, when, however, at New- 
market he easily won the Bedford Stakes and opened 
the eyes of the English horsemen. At the same meet- 
ing he made a hard fight for the Ashley Stakes and then 
won the Bretley Nursery Handicap. 

As a three-year old he was not engaged in any of the 
great classics events of England, but ran second to Bend 
Or for the City and Subuiban Handicap, leaving twenty- 
three others behind him and proving himself to be as 
good as any of the best thoroughbreds then on the 
English turf In June came his great achievement, the 
winning of the Grand Prix of Paris, when he defeated 
Tristan, Albion, Fiddler, Dublin, Leon, Royamont, 
Forum, Cassimir and Scobell. At the Ascot Meeting in 
the same month of June he lost the Gold Cup to Robert 
the Devil, and then went off in form. But he was soon 
brought into condition again and in the autumn races 
won the Cesarewitch in a common canter, defeated his 
old French rival Tristan in the Select Stakes, and came 
in at the head of the field in the Cambridgeshire, defeat- 
ing Lucy Glitters by a head, with Tristan tiiird. His 
double victory of the two great Newmarket Handicaps 
had only one parallel, the victory of Rosebery in 1876, 
and it was genei'ally recognized that Mi'. Keene was 
quite within bounds in declaring that his colt was "the 
greatest horse in the world." 

For several years after 1882 the Americans were some- 
what less conspicuous upon the English turf, although 
both Mr. Lorillard and Mr. Keene still continued in the 
field. In iS8s, Iroquois won the Stockbridge Cup and 
othei' victories were from time to time set down to 
the credit of the American stables. The entries for the 
Giand Prix of Paris in 1884 showed to some extent upon 
what horses the American stables were then placing 
their dependence. Mr. Lorillard's nominations were 



128 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



l^ontiac by I'oro Gomez out of Agcnoria, sister to I'izarro, 
Choctaw by Saxon; Hmperor by Enquirer out of Vesper 
Liijiit, the dam of Vandaiite; De Soto by Wanderer out 
of Katie Pease, a full brother to Lizzie S. ; Manitoba by 
Gleniyon out of Marie IVlichon and Huron by Saxon out 
of Vandalite. Mr. Keene nominated a sister to Foxhail 
by King Alfonso out of Jamaica; a colt by King Alfonso 
out of Hester; a bay colt by Virgil out of Bonnie 
Form, and an English bred colt by Rlair Athol out 
of Perewig. From English stables, several of the get 
of the famous old American stallion Preakness were 
nominated. 

Early in the nineties the movement of American turf- 
men toward England began to develop again to a marked 
degree and to Messrs. Lorillard and Keene, the former 
of whom had begun to transfer nearly all his racing inter- 
ests from the United States to the old World, the names 
of many newcomers were added. The campaign of the 
Messrs. Richard Croker and M. F. Dwyer, disastrous as 
it was at the outset, is still fresh in the public mind, for 
it is an affair of but yesterday. Messrs. Croker & Dwyer 
went abroad in 1895, taking with them a string of 
twenty-one horses. Foremost in their stable were Ban- 
quet by Rayon d'Or out of Ella T. ; Stonenell by 
Stonehenge out of Nell; Don Alonzo by Long Taw out 
of Round Dance; Dobbins by imported Mr. Pickwick 
out of Thora and Harry Reed by Himyar out of Violet. 
All of these horses had good records on the American 
turf. Don Alonzo, who was bred by Mr. Charles Reed, 
was bought as a yearling by Mr. F. A. Ehret and sold to 
Mr. M. F. Dwyer for $30,000 in 1892. As a two-year-old 
he did fairly well, winning four races, the Tremont, the 
Sapling, the Junior Champion and the Select Stakes. As a 
three-year old he won thirteen purses and sweepstakes, 
while as a four-year old he won eleven races, his best 
being the Sheepshead Bay Handicap, 1 mile, in i min- 
ute, 41 seconds, against a good field. The careers 
of Banquet, Stonenell and Dobbins have been elsewhere 
given. 

Other horses in the Croker-Dwyer stable were Utica 
by Iroquois out of Duchess; Montauk by Strathmore out 
of Spinaway; Belle Meade by Glenelgout of Trade Wind; 
Natty by Tremont out of Tassel; a two-year old lillv by 
Fremont out of Pride; a bay colt by Sir Modred out of 
Faux Pas, and two chestnut fillies by Enquirer, one out of 
Tomrig and the other out of Tattoo. A peculiarly inter- 
esting feature of this string was that it included eight of 
the get of Iroquois who were returning to show them- 
selves upon the fields where their world-renowned sire 
had made himself famous. These were Utica out of 
Duchess; Hervert out of Hildegard; True Blue out of 
Tullahoma; Sweet Marie out of Baby; Trilby out of Theo- 
dora; Dinah out of Orphan Girl; a bay filly outof Armiel 
and a chestnut colt out of Valette. 



The results of this disastrous campaign are too well- 
known to call for extended consideration here. Several 
of the best horses of the stable, entered in selling races, 
were claimed and lost to the owners, and several others 
had to be bid in to save them. The first race won was 
the Crawford Plate at the Newmarket Craven Course, 
when Eau Gallic, formerly Utica, beat Estar, Erin 
and seven others. The odds were 8 to i against Eau 
Gallie, who was ridden by Sims, this being the 
jockey's first mount in England. Harry Reed, at the 
Newmarket meeting, won a selling race by three 
lengths. It was generally considered that the stable did 
not appear to its best advantage for the reason that it 
was not well handled. 

Messrs. l)uke& Wishard also tried their fortunes on the 
English turf in 189s. Their venture was daring rather 
than promising. Their best horse was Ramapo, then a 
five-year old chestnut by imported Pontiac out of Annie 
F. His fame was well established by his winning of 
the Suburban in 1894, and he has been considered one 
of the best American race horses of recent years. One 
authority at the time even said that he was "no doubt 
the best American representative that has been sent to 
England since the time of Iroquois and Foxhail." Other 
members of the string, which numbered ten, were Hugh 
Penny, Helen Nichols, Wishard, Damsel, Mack Briggs 
and several yearlings, one by Himyar out of Miss Austin, 
another by Bersan out of a dam by Silvermine, another 
by Strathmore out of Ortawin, and one by Pontiac out of 
Miss Lunley. The venture was not particularly success- 
ful, and Ramapo, upon whom the greatest dependence 
was placed, and who was regarded as having a good 
chance for the Cesarewitch, was unable to start on 
account of his foot going wrong. Mr. Lorillard also had 
a considerable stable in the field for 1896, but no emi- 
nent performers were in it, the best, judged by their 
success, being Belisama, Dolabra, Diakka, Sandia and 
Dacotah II. The fifteen horses in the stable won 
only twenty races out of the one hundred and two 
in which they started, taking in purses and stakes 
$25,000. 

Eminent success on the courses which the English 
Jockey Club directs and controls, is accompanied by 
more lucrative returns and by wider celebrity than can 
be gained on American tracks. It is these considerations, 
probably, not less than that of patriotism, that have led 
American turfmen in recent years to turn their attention 
more and more to the foreign field as worthy of their 
cultivation. The rewards of these enterprises have not 
in every instance been commensurate with their cost, 
but, nevertheless, the chances of success have been 
such as to make the venture more and more alluring. 
Where once, as in the days of Messrs. Ten Broeck and 
Sanford, the American turfmen were represented by 



129 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



single stables, there has been, particularly during the 
last decade, a steady and large increase in the number 
and in the strength of the strings in England representa- 
tive of the United States. The careers of some of the 
principal owners who have thus carried their colors back 
to the early home of the thoroughbred, have been briefly 
reviewed here and brought down to the present date. 
There have been occasional instances besides those men- 
tioned, as, for example, Mr. Fred Gebhard, who took 
over Eole and St. Saviour, while even other names might 
well be added to the list. 

That the English turf is more than ever attractive to 
American horsemen is plainly evidenced by the numbei' 
of American horses that are now annually run in the Old 
World. A comparison of the record for 1897 with that 
of forty years earlier is instructive. At the earlier date 
Mr. Richard Ten Broeck was the solitary representative 
of the American turf abroad, and the few horses that he 
had with him were, as we have seen, a novelty rather 
than a success. In 1897, no less than seventy-six Ameri- 
can bred horses ran on the English turf, and their total 
winnings amounted to a little more than $95,000. The 
principal American turfmen represented were Messrs. 
August Belmont, Pierre Lorillard, Richard Croker and 
James R. Keene. In Mr. Belmont's string were Actinism 
by imported Rayon D'Or out of Arnica; Bridegroom II., 
by imported Rayon D'Or out of imported St. Bridget; In- 
vergold by imported Rayon D'Or out of Invermay; Souver- 
aine by imported Rayon D'Or out of Sultana, and Terp- 
sichore II. by imported St. Blaise out of Reel Dance. The 
stable was not at all successful. Souveraine won a single 
race and Bridegroom II. ran third for the Liverpool Nur- 
sery Stake. 

Mr. Lorillard was represented by Belisama by Sensa- 
tion out of Blush; Chinook by Sensation out of Breeze; 
Draco by imported The Sailor Prince out of Darya; Elfin 
by Sensation out of Equality, and Sandia by imported The 
Sailor Prince out of Saluda. Sandia brought the most suc- 
cess to his owner's colors, winning the Fern Hill Stakes 
and the New Biennial Stakes at Ascot; the Lingfield 
Summer Handicap at Lingfield ; the Scarborough Stakes 
at Doncaster. and the Old Cambridgeshire Handicap at 
Newmarket. He also ran second for the Brighton Cup, 
and was third to Comfrey for the Cambridgeshire Handi- 
cap. Belisama won the Bentinck Plate at five furlongs, 
and the same plate at six furlongs, both at Nottingham. 
Draco won the Visitor's Plate at Newmarket from a field 
of twenty, the Quarndon Plate at Derby and the Drake- 
low Stakes at Derby. Elfin won the Biennial Stakes at 
Ascot and was second for the Chesterfield Stakes at 
Newmarket. Mr. Croker had in his string Americus by 
Emperor of Norfolk out of Clara D. ; Nashville by Iro- 
quois out of Boulotte; Princeton by Hanover out of Mar- 
garine; Rhoda B. by Hanover out of Margarine, and 



Santa Anita by imported Cheviot out of Alaho. Americus 
won the Riddleworth Plate at Epsom and the South- 
down Plate at Brighton. Rhoda B. won the Exning 
Plate at Newmarket. Mr. Keene was represented by St. 
Cloud by imported Candlemas out of Belle of May wood; 
and his horse ran third to Galtee More for the Doncaster 
St. Leger and second to Comfrey for the Cambridgeshire 
Handicap. 

The esteem with which the American bred blood 
horse is now regarded by English turfmen was shown 
by the number of animals that were the inmates of Eng- 
lish stables in 1897. Among owners who thus displayed 
their belief in American stock. Lord William Beresford 
was especially conspicuous. The American bred horses 
that he ran during the season were Berzak by Sensation 
out of Belphoebe; Blondin II. by The Bard out of Equi- 
poise; Bloozen by Sensation out of Blush; Day Star by 
Sensation out of Dolinka; Diakka by imported The 
Sailor Prince out of Rizpah; Jiffy II., by imported The 
Sailor Prince out of Joy; Keenan by Lisbon out of Patri- 
mony; Lamerock by Sensation out of Lizzie Cox; Libra 
by Sensation out of Lima; Meta II. by Sensation out of 
Magnetic, and Tuxedo by imported Pontiac out of Annie 
F. At the head of the list of all the winning Americans 
of the season stood Diakka, who was successful in the 
Subscription Stakes at Newmarket, the Duke of York 
Stakes at Kempton, the Peveril of the Peak at Derby and 
the Duchess of York Stakes at Hurst Park. He also ran 
second for the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood. His win- 
nings were $19,541. Berzak ran second for the New- 
market Stakes and fourth for the Two Thousand 
Guineas, both of which were won by Galtee More. 
Bloozen ran third for the Rangemore Stakes at 
Warwick, jiffy 11. won the Old Nursery Stakes at 
Newmarket. Keenan ran second for the Manchester 
Cup and also second for the Manchester November 
Handicap. Meta II. won, the Warren Nursery Stakes 
at Leicester. 

Dolabra by Emperor out of Dolinka, and owned by 
Mr. Dobell, was successful in five out of twelve starts. 
He won the Stand Plate at Doncaster, and the Stanley 
Plate at Kempton Park, and ran a dead heat with Maid 
of Valetta for the Windemere Plate at Liverpool, divid- 
ing the stakes. Mr. H. Monkshall's Brave Himyar by 
Himyar out of Bravoura, won three out of the seven 
races in which he started, his successes being for the 
Qiiarndon Plate at Derby, the Sheen Plate at the Kemp- 
ton Park Easter Meeting, and the same plate at the 
Kempton Park August Meeting. Mr. Gottschalk's 
Atossal by Sensation out of Austraiana. won the Nevill 
Plate at Lewes. Mr. J. L. Dugdale's Beryl by Sensation 
out of Belphcebe, won the Wigston Plate at Leicester. 
Mr. A. Cockburn's David 11. by Tenny out of Qiiesal, 
won the Leicestershire October Handicap at Leicester. 



130 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Mr. Ci. MacLichlan's Don Alonzo by Long Taw out of 
Round Dance, won four out of twelve races in which he 
started, and was third for the Manchester November 
Handicap. Mr. J. A. Miller's Glaring by imported The 
Sailor Prince out of Flash, won the Wood Ditton Stakes 
at Newmarket. Mr. M. D. Rucker's Lapwing 11. by 
Sensation out of Lizzie Cox, won a single race, 
and was third for the Great Surrey Breeders' Foal 
Plate, and also third for the Seaton Deieval Plate at 
Newcastle. 

Other American bred horses on the Hnglish iLirf this sea- 
son were Albany by Hanover out of Burletta ; Banquet by 
imported Rayon D'Or out of Hlla T. ; Bowers by 
imported Great Tom out of Moselle; Gallatin by 
imported St. Blaise out of Emma; Eau Gallie by Iroquois 
out of Duchess; Capitola by imported Islington out of 
Louise; Damsel IL by Kinglike out of Stonecrop; Har- 
vard by Hanover out of Extra: Kidnapper 11. by Mag- 
netizer out of Lady Kidbrooke; Lexington by Strath- 
more out of Heleva; Montauk by Strathmore out of 
Spinaway: Moss Rose II. by Salvator out of Bedotte; 
New Jersey by Tristan out of Silver Blue; Prince George 
II. by Sensation out of Louisette; Roman Chief by Han- 
over out of Golden Reel; Sir Excess by imported Sir 
Modred out of Dixianna; Tagus by imported Rayon 
D'Or out of Qiieen T. ; Tennessee by Iroquois out of 
Tullahoma ; Westchester by Hanover out of Cyrilla, and 
Yale by Strathmore out of Bonnie Lee. The owners of 
these horses, other than those already mentioned, were 
Messrs. Riley, Diggle, E. Crawford, F. Fitton, J. F. Hal- 
leck, G. Parker, R. K. Sampson, H. McCalmont, G. 
Lambton, A. Cockburn, T. Leader, W. Sibary, C. A. 
Mills. ]. T. Wood, R. Thirwell, B. Seton, C. Hibbert, A. 
B. Saddler, W. Wiston, L. Rothschild, F. R. Hunt, J. 
Cannon, B. Waterer, J. Wood, J. Widger, J. G. R. 
Homfrav. and M. R. Lebaudy, Sir H. de Trafford and 
Sir J. Duke. In all, the American bred horses ran in 379 
races, of which they won 59, were second 43 times, 
third 54 times, and unplaced 221 times. Mr. Keene's 
St. Cloud also started once in France, where he ran 
unplaced in the Grand Prix. 

Although, as appears from this record, the number of 
American stables and particularly the number of Amer- 
ican bred horses that were prominent in the English 
events for this season was considerabl} in excess of the 
number of those that had appeared in any previous year, 
and offered an agreeable contrast to the list of Mr. Ten 
Broeck's lonely venture in 1836, their success was not 
as pronounced as patriotic Americans could wish. 
Nevertheless, on the whole, the situation was not con- 
sidered discouraging and a larger number of American 
horses was entered for British stakes in ensuing seasons 
than at any previous time. Mr. Lorillard did well enough 
in 1897 with his American horses and an American 



trainer, to encourage him to enlarge his stable, and his 
victories seemed to act as an incentive to other ambitious 
turfmen to enter the same (ield. But he is now associ- 
ated with a British partner. Lord William Beresford, who 
is even more active than he in the management of the 
stable of which Mr. John Huggins is the trainer. A deep 
interest still attaches to Mr. Lorillard, as having been the 
pioneer in the present generation to challenge the British 
upon their own grounds. 

To Messrs. Lorillard, Kecne, Belmont and Croker may 
be added the names of other Americans, who will still 
continue to try their fortunes in the future as in the past, 
on the historic grounds so dear to our kin beyond the 
sea. The English turf is in every way abundantly worthy 
of the enthusiastic support of the vast multitudes that 
delight to see the thoroughbred champions vie with each 
other in world-renowned combats. Many who have 
studied the subject thoroughly hold that the turf in that 
country is better managed than the American. There 
may be reasonable doubt, however, on this point, for, as 
a rule, both in England and in this country, while mis- 
takes have sometimes been made, the stewards, starters 
and other officials who hold important turf places, enjoy 
and deserve to the fullest extent the trust and esteem of 
those who follow the races, either as participants or 
spectators. It is commendable, however, in our leading 
American sportsmen that, while not disdaining honors to 
be won in their native land, they should seek the trans- 
cendent fame that can come to them in a greater degree 
by success in the historic contests of the mother country. 
Their triumphs there must have something more than a 
mere personal character, for at Epsom, Newmarket, 
Ascot and wherever else they may appear, they repre- 
sent, not alone themselves, but also America and the 
American thoroughbred. 

One result that has been hoped for as an outgrowth 
of the interest displayed by American turfmen in the 
turf of England, has not yet been apparent. That the 
enterprise exhibited in taking American thoroughbreds 
abroad might in time bring about a return movement of 
English horsemen to try their fortunes in this country in 
friendly rivalry, for the great events of the American turf 
has been the fond dream of all American sportsmen for 
more than a generation. There has been almost no 
reciprocation of this character, however. In 1876, a 
single instance that was an exception to the constitu- 
tional apathy displayed by the Englishmen toward the 
American turf, encouraged hope that, thus the ice once 
broken, we should soon see a manifest change in this 
particular. Years have passed, however, and the Eng- 
lish turfmen still remain conspicuous in America solely 
by their absence. 

It is quite true that the emoluments of the English 
turf are, generally speaking, superior to those of this 



131 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

country, and therefore it is natural that English owners under the climatic conditions and the customs governing 

should adhere to their own tracks. The objection of the the American turf is very desirable, does not admit of 

risk and expense of transferring an English string to doubt. It would give an additional line toward the 

the United States has been advanced as another reason settlement of the much-vexed question of the relative 

for the Englishmen remaining at home, but it does not superiority of the two equine races, American and 

seem that in this respect the English sportsman should English. Such an experiment, or series of experi- 

be any less enterprising than his American cousin. That ments, would afford the greatest delight to American 

the trying of English thoroughbreds in the United States, turfmen. 



132 



RACING OFFICIALS 



The Mi n Who Directed the Aefairs of the Turf in Days Gone By— Some Celebrated 

Handicappers — The Jockey Club, its Work and its Influential 

Members — Distinguished Modern Turfmen 



^ N the early days of the American turt that class of 
T I gentlemen known in more recent times under the 
;^ general title of racing officials had, comparatively 
speaking, not yet appeared. Racing had not then 
assumed a magnitude, nor a character that called for the 
wise and painstaking oversight that it is now necessary 
to give to it. The courses were few in number, while 
owners who made a business of their attention to the 
sport were not numerous. Many of the race tracks 
were private business enterprises that came very little, if 
at all. under the supervision of any turfmen, save their 
owners. The few jockey clubs that existed were widely 
separated, and their interests clashed with each other 
to a very limited degree, if at all. There was a free and 
easy manner about racing events in those days that can- 
not possibly obtain at the present time when so many 
hundreds of individuals are vitally concerned in results. 
Judges there were, of course, and stewards, but their 
duties were of a simple character compared with those 
that to-day are delegated to the gentlemen who now 
hold similar positions. 

The elaborate and intricate rules governing racing and 
all the manifold details of management are features 
almost entirely of the modern development of the turf. 
They have resulted from the enormous expansion of 
turf affairs during the last generation or so and the mul- 
tiplication of so many varied interests that have sprung 
up into vital connection with it. Especially the system 
of handicapping and the mode of betting have 
originated in the present day and have overshad- 
owed the turf in a manner that could scarcely have been 
dreamed of fifty years ago. Under these changed con- 
ditions the modern racing officials have been developed 
and their duties have become so extensive and onerous 
that it is quite within reason to say that the welfare, if 
not the entire existence of the turf, depends upon their 
wisdom, faithfulness and hard work. The racing offi- 
cials, including the presidents of the jockey clubs 
and the stewards, with handicappers, starters and 
judges, now constitute a body of sportsmen who have 
an enormous power for evil or for good. It is to their 
credit and to the advantage of turf interests that this 
power has been almost invariably exercised, energetic- 
ally and honestly and for the best interests of the sport 
in whose prosperity all are concerned. 



New York has been particularly fortunate in the num- 
ber and the character of the high-minded sportsmen, 
who, in various official capacity, have substantially con- 
tributed to the advancement of racing interests in and 
about the metropolis. From the days of Mr. Francis 
Morris, Mr. John C. Stevens and others of the ante- 
bellum times down to the immediate present, they have 
always been foremost among turfmen of the country. 
By their attention to the direction of racing affairs and to 
the practical solution of many of the puzzling problems 
that have from time to time arisen, they have contributed 
very markedly to the development and the prosperity of 
the turf in all parts of the country. The elaborate rules 
of government made necessary by the phenomenal 
growth of the turf in modern times practically originated 
with the racing oflicials of the North and they have been 
a most powerful fiictor in building up racing into the full 
stature of a national institution. 

Some names of the immediate past stand out in 
special prominence in this connection. No one who has 
even the slightest acquaintance with the history of the 
American turf can fail to be impressed with the vast in- 
fluence for good that was exercised by Mr. D. D. Withers. 
No more conservative or more thorough sportsman than 
he has ever had a place in the annals of the turf, whether 
it be of this country or of England. Like the Morrises, 
who were also identified with the turf in his generation, 
he came of one of the oldest New York families, his 
Hither being Reuben Withers, well known as the presi- 
dent of the Bank of the State of New York and one of the 
fashionable residents of the old Second Avenue. Mr. D. 
D. Withers was brought up to a business career, and at 
an early age became a clerk in the shipping house of the 
firm of Howland & Aspinwall. While he was a mere 
boy he was sent to New Orleans to take charge there of 
the business of the house with which he was connected. 
In the Southern city he soon set up independently, 
becoming a large dealer in cotton and farming properties 
and buying and selling plantations in Louisiana and Mis- 
sissippi. When the Civil War broke out, he gave his 
allegiance to the South, although his father was for the 
North, his long residence in the former section, begun at 
a youthful and impressionable age, having made him 
thoroughly Southern in sympathies and opinions. 
During the progress of the war he visited England and 



133 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the continent of Europe, and in after years lie deliglited 
to tell how he had been a witness of the great Derby of 
1865, when the Blue Ribbon of the English turf went for 
the first time to a French bred horse, the great Gladia- 
teur. 

Returning to this country in 1866, he settled again in 
New York. During his residence in New Orleans he had 
been a member of the Jockey Club there, but had not 
been identified with racing interests in the East until he 
was invited to join the organization of the American 
Jockey Club. At the first club meeting he was chosen 
one of the governors, and held that office during the rest 
of his life. Associated with Mr. John F. Purdy. he bought 
a string of race horses, and at once became prominent 
in turf circles. He was called the " mentor of the 
American turf," and effectively demonstrated his right to 
that title, for he was the highest ideal of a true sports- 
man that this country or perhaps any other has ever pro- 
duced. As the owner of an extensive stable, as a large 
breeder, as one of the founders of the finest race course in 
America, and perhaps in the world, as an able and inde- 
fatigable administrator of turf law, he conferred countless 
obligations on the racing community. At the time of 
his death he was Chairman of the Board of Control, and 
from his familiarity with the rules of racing he was 
called "the American Admiral Rous." Nearly all the 
rules governing the running of horses in the East and 
the United States were drafted by him, and he was the 
acknowledged American authority in all such matters. 

For many years Brookdale, which Mr. Withers estab- 
lished and made famous, was one of the favorite resorts 
of the leading turfmen of the period in the vicinity 
of New York. To quote from an appreciative article 
that appeared in The Spirit of the Times long ago: "It 
was in the library at Brookdale that the sage (Mr. 
Withers) would buckle down at the desk after his 
guests had retired to sleep and frame his stake conditions, 
enter his foals on 'the foal list,' and mate his mares by 
aid of tables showing percentage of Touchstone, Par- 
tisan and Birdcatcher blood. Here also he framed the 
Rules of Racing, codifying the latest English rules into 
an amended digest to suit American conditions. Mid- 
night oil burned low, for it was the 'wee sma' hours,' 
when he sought his couch, but if there was a trial of 
Juvenile or Criterion candidates set down for the next 
morning none rose earlier than he. And what famous, 
gay and brilliant meetings have been held at this same 
library in the piping days of the black silk jacket. Editor 
Hurlburt and Mr. Sam Ward, Wade Hampton, Beaure- 
gard, rather grizzled, but as erect and polite as in the 
old Fort Sumter days; Duncan F. Kenner, who revived 
old New Orleans recollections; August Belmont; John 
F. Purdy, silver-voiced, but bright as gold on racing 
questions; Judge Monson, austere and authoritative; 



J. G. K. Lawrence, with whom the old gentleman quar- 
reled, but respected most profoundly." 

At the time of his death Mr. Withers was Chairman of 
the Board of Control and was rendering incalculable 
service to racing interests that were concentrated in and 
about New York. His active racing career lasted for 
more than a quarter of a century, and during that entire 
period he was never in any way concerned in any trans- 
actions that could in the slightest degree redound to his 
discredit or bring suspicion upon the turf In the business 
world he was the executor of his father's estate, although, 
at his own request, he never inherited a dollar, being better 
satisfied to have achieved his fortune solely by his own 
unaided efforts. For a long time he was president and 
manager of the East River Ferry franchise, which was 
afterward sold to a syndicate in which Austin Corbin 
and the Vanderbilts were mostly interested. 

Any consideration of those individuals, who have been 
prominently identified with the American turf in the one 
hundred and fifty years of its existence, would be 
obviously and inexcusably incomplete, if it did not give 
attention to the very great services of Mr. Leonard W. 
Jerome. His name, with a few others, stands far and 
away at the head of the list of those to whom the turf in 
contemporaneous times has owed its standing and pros- 
perity. Not even in the generations long gone by, when 
racing was conserved by those gentlemen of influence 
whose careers are elsewhere dwelt upon, were there 
any who surpassed Mr. Jerome in integrity of pur- 
pose, enterprise and unselfish devotion to the best inter- 
ests of racing. .Mr. Jerome's racing career extended over 
fully a quarter of a century, and during part of that 
period he was a prime factor in the revival of general 
interest in the sport in the North, a revival that was the 
precursor and the basis of the phenomenally successful 
and gratifying condition of contemporaneous racing. 

Belonging to one of the oldest New York families, and 
being one of the most successful financiers of his genera- 
tion, Mr. Jerome had that prestige which social standing 
and wealth confer upon a man. His natural qualities of 
character were such that he endeared himself to a large 
circle of acquaintances, and in his energetic efforts to re- 
habilitate racing he commanded the co-operation of a 
large contingent of gentlemen of wealth. At the time 
when he undertook the seemingly discouraging work of 
reviving the dormant interests in affairs of the turf just 
after the close of the Civil War, racing was circumscribed 
by very narrow limits, and the outlook for its future was 
exceedingly discouraging. A love of the sport still ex- 
isted, however, and Mr. Jerome, with those who associ- 
ated themselves with him, fully recognizing this fact, 
based their plans accordingly for the regeneration of the 
race course. He was a prime mover in the organization 
of the American Jockey Club and in the opening of its 
34 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



course at Jerome I^.irk, that was named in liis honor. In 
that and in other enterprises that afterward sprang into 
being in the Hast he was untiringiv active. His colors, 
blue, white stripes, were long familiar to frequenters of 
race courses and even after he had retired his stable, he 
still retained his official connection with the spoit to which 
he had so energetically devoted a great part of his lifetime. 
As president, he was at the head of three leading East- 
ern tracks, and to them, particularly, he gave time and 
money in the most unstinted manner. He was a gener- 
ous buyer of good thoroughbreds and enriched his stable 
with some of the best stock of the period in which he 
lived. One of his most celebrated coups was the pur- 
chase of Kentucky, the son of Lexington and Magnolia, 
for the sum of $40,000, which would be a large amount 
to pay for a thoroughbred, even in these days, and was 
much more so at the time when he was buying. 

Not alone in racing circles was Mr. Jerome conspicu- 
ous. He was a bold and dashing financier and identi- 
fied with many of the big operations of Wall Street. 
During the Civil War he was one of the most patriotic 
supporters of the Union cause, being lavish in his contri- 
butions to the Government, and in many quiet ways as- 
sisting the cause to which he was devoted. In other 
sporting circles besides racing he was active and influ- 
ential. As an expert whip, he was identified with the 
annals of coaching in this country and did much to pro- 
mote that fashionable divertisement. He was one of the 
best four-in-hand drivers in the country. Interested also 
in yachting, he was not less influential in promoting the 
interests of that sport than he was in upbuilding racing 
and driving. The flrst yacht that he ever owned was 
the Undine. Afterward he was part owner of the Rest- 
less with Commodore McVicker, and part owner of the 
Dauntless with Mr. James Gordon Bennett. In the great 
ocean race of 1870 between the Dauntless and Cambria 
he came conspicuously to the front as a representative 
American yachtsman. He also owned one of the earliest 
steam yachts that sailed in American waters, the Clarita. 
As a patron of the fine arts, a leader in the social life ol 
the period and a gentleman of high intellectual attain- 
ments and of brilliant wit, he was one of the most 
prominent figures in New York life in the last quarter of 
the nineteenth century. His death occurred in 1890. 

Closely connected with Mr. Jerome in business, social 
and sporting life, Mr. William R. Travers, who died four 
years before his distinguished associate passed away, 
also left a very distinct and valuable impress upon turf 
affairs of the period. Mr. Travers came naturally by his 
predeliction for racing affairs. He was a native of Mary- 
land, where his family had been identified with the turf 
in connection with the Bowies, Pucketts, Johnsons and 
other noted racing families of that section. After he 
settled in New York in business, he become associated 



with John Hunter, of Westchester County, and formally 
entered upon racing in 1863. Prominent in the stable that 
he owned, in conjunction with .Messrs. Hunterand Osgood, 
were Kentucky, Areola, Ulrica, Flora Mclvor and Oliata. 
When racing revived after the close of the Cival War, he 
was one of the syndicate that formed the Annieswood 
Stable to compete with the strong stables from the South 
that were making their appearance upon the Northern 
race tracks. In this venture he was associated with 
Messrs. John Hunter, Leonard W. Jerome, August Bel- 
mont and K. W. Cameron. The stable bought liberally, 
both in Kentucky and abroad, and raced under mauve 
colors. 

When the Annieswood was dissolved in i86g, Messrs. 
Hunterand Travers resumed racing under the orange 
jacket. They established a stud and bred many horses, 
continuing in business until 1874. Among the most 
celebrated horses that they raised were Alarm. Rhada- 
manthus, Olitipa, Cannie Bairn and Intrigue, while they 
also owned Buckden, King Bolt, King Pin, Sultana and 
others. One of their sensational ventures was matching 
their stallion Censor, a Gloamin colt, for $10,000 against 
Mr. R. W. Cameron's Miss Alice, a contest in which 
they were defeated. They were also the principals in 
several other notable races of that period. Their filly. 
Intrigue, beat Mr. Littell's Emma Johnson colt, in a 
match for $r,ooo a side. The same year they paid for- 
feit in a match that had been made for Intrigue against 
Mr. August Belmont's Finesse, and, also in the same 
season, 1869, they lost a $5,000 match with Intrigue, 
who was beaten by Finesse. In 1871, they won a 
$10,000 match with Alarm, beating Mr. R. W. Cameron's 
Inverary. As a three-year old, Alarm was never beaten, 
and. in 1874, Olitipa was considered one of the best 
horses in any Northern stable. 

In the death of Mr. John Minor, who was the trainer 
for Messrs. Hunter and Travers, that stable met with a 
severe loss, and decided to discontinue business. They 
sold Rhadamanthus and their other leading horses in 
1874, and Mr. Travers never appeared again as a racing 
owmeron the track. Nevertheless, he still retained his in- 
terest in the turf, and was one of the most influential turf- 
men of the seventies and eighties. After 1877, he was 
the owner of the Valley Brook Farm, at Rutherford Park, 
N. J., and, for sometime before his death, was one of 
the largest owners of the Jerome Park property, being 
also a stockholder of the Coney Island Jockey Club. 
For many years he was President of the Saratoga Racing 
Association. Beginning with the early seventies, he 
instituted the Travers Stake at Saratoga, and annually 
presented to the winner a valuable piece of silver plate 
as a trophy. From the foundation of the American 
Jockey Club he was one of its stewards, and was also 
for many years President of the New York Athletic Club 



135 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



and of the Racquet Ckib. He was a strikint; example of 
the best type of the all-around American sportsman. 

Although the senior Mr. August Belmont attained to 
distinction as an owner and breeder, second to no 
American tuninan, either of the past or the present, his 
services to the cause of racing as an official were not 
less important. When some future historian of thor- 
oughbred racing in the United States sets forth the 
causes that gave popularity and character to the sport in 
the latter years of the nineteenth century, the e.xample 
of Mr. Beimont will necessarily be the theme of praise 
as high as it is fully deserved. His name is intimately 
associated with the establishment of racing in this coun- 
try upon a dignified footing, while it is synonymous 
with sportsmanship of the loftiest type. Considering 
racing officials of the past, he is entitled to as full con- 
sideration as any man of his day. It is not saying too 
much of him to assert that to no small degree the pros- 
perity of the turf of the present day was due to his 
efforts. 

Mr. Belmont filled so large a place in the view of the 
public that it is impossible to speak of his connection 
with sport by itself alone. This was only one phase 
of his many-sided personality, and the success and hon- 
ors which he gained upon the turf were only other mani- 
festations of his strength of character and of will and his 
indomitable energy that made him eminent in many 
pursuits. Born at Alzey, in the Prussian Rhineland, in 
1816, his ancestors had been people of wealth for several 
centuries, as well as of great influence in public affairs. 
The circumstances of his family were such that he 
received all the advantages which wealth and position 
could secure, including a liberal classical education. At 
an early age, however, he determined upon a commer- 
cial, rather than a professional career, and entered the 
banking house of the famous Rothschilds, in Frankfort- 
on-Main. Subsequently he held a position in the branch 
of the same establishment, at Naples, developing a 
business capacity of the highest order and a remarkable 
talent for finance. In 1857, when but twenty-one years 
old, he came to New York and established the banking 
house which under his name has prospered through all 
the vicissitudes of business and finance, and which, 
from the date of its foundation, more than sixty years 
ago, to the present day, has represented the interests of 
the Rothschilds in America. 

It is not germane to the purpose of this article to 
dwell upon the conspicuous part which, for fifty years, 
Mr. Belmont played in financial affairs, both of this 
country and of Europe. It is sufficient to say succinctly 
that he was one of the world's greatest financiers in his 
day and generation. Brief mention must, at least, be 
made to his political career, for his activity in public life 
exhibited one of the strongest and most important sides 



of his nature. As soon as he arrived in this country he 
became an American citizen, determined to identify him- 
self completely with his adopted country. Thoroughly 
a man of the people, he joined the Democratic party and 
became at once prominent in its councils. Generally 
speaking, public office had no allurements for him, but 
he rendered great service to the Government at notable 
crises in its history, especially in such matters as related 
to its financial affairs. Diplomacy was quite in keeping 
with his taste, and had he chosen to devote himself to 
that career he would undoubtedly have been as brilliantly 
successful as he was in the financial world. From 1844 
to i8so he held the post of Consul-General of the Austrian 
Empire in New York. In 1852, he was appointed by 
President Franklin Pierce to be Minister of the United 
States to the Court of the Netherlands, and served with 
distinction to himself and advantage to the nation. 
Other tenders of public office were made to him, but 
these he invariably declined, although he was always 
ready to give the National Government the benefit of his 
counsels. Having labored earnestly to avert the rupture 
between the North and the South that led to the Civil 
War, he gave his most patriotic support to the cause of 
the Union when the perilous days came. He aided in 
the creation of some of the earliest German regiments 
recruited in New York, and twice crossed the ocean to 
carry on important and delicate negotiations on behalf of 
the Government, receiving the thanks of President Lin- 
coln for his valuable services. He was Chairman of the 
Democratic National Committee from i860 until 1872, 
when he retired from active political life. 

Many other features in Mr. Belmont's versatile, yel 
strong, character also helped to make him one of the fore- 
most men of his time. It was justly said of him that he 
understood and did more things well than any man of his 
day. A leadership in the social world came to him as 
easily as his prominence in business. He was a dis- 
criminating patron of music, literature and art, and his 
magnificent gallery of paintings by the world's foremost 
masters was one of the earliest, as well as one of the 
most famous, that America ever possessed. To all these 
gifts and accomplishments he added an innate love of 
sport which, in early life, made him an adept in manly 
exercises and pursuits, and which later became crystal- 
lized in his devotion to horses and the turf. His partici- 
pation in racing and affairs pertaining to that sport dated 
from the very inception of racing under its present 
auspices. He was one of that group of famous gentle- 
men sportsmen who combined to establish the American 
jockey Club, and his selection as its first president, in 
1866, a position that he held for twenty years, was a for- 
tunate choice. He brought to the position not only the 
full weight of his social, political and business prestige, 
but the enire racing community was the gainer by hav- 

136 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ing. as its head, a gentleman of sucli matured judgment, 
high sportsmanlike instincts and thorough acquaintance 
with the best traditions of the Huropean turf. 

Mr. Belmont was foremost among the men who gave 
to thoroughbred racing stability, settled order and a 
place among the pursuits which gentlemen of the highest 
standing could follow without loss of dignity, and made 
it one of the pastimes that the public could enjoy with 
unalloyed satisfaction and with confidence in the integ- 
rity with which it was managed. This involved both 
labor and sacrifices. The racing public of the present 
day can scarcely form an adequate idea of the circum- 
stances that confronted Mr. Belmont and those who 
were associated with him. The general community had 
yet to learn the pleasure of racing. Owners weie few 
and widely scattered throughout the country, tracks had 
to be created, and the financial burden of providing ade- 
quate inducements for the breeding and running of high 
class horses had to be supplied by the principal lovers of 
the pursuit themselves. The successful results are the 
best evidence of the spirit in which the great work was 
undertaken, and on the roll of honor of those prominent 
in the task the name of August Belmont will ever hold a 
leading place. 

One of the oldest, if not quite the oldest of American 
racing officials, is Mr. Charles Wheatly, who, after a long 
and active turf career, still lives in the quiet enjoyment of 
his recollections of the glorious days of the past. More 
than a generation ago, before the beginning of the Civil 
War, he was called to be secretary of the Kentucky As- 
sociation. Even previous to that time he had been 
vitally interested in the thoroughbred, and was already 
considered one of the leading authorities in the United 
States upon all matters pertaining to the blood horse and 
his performances. For many years he rendered able 
service to the Kentucky Association, and there attracted 
the attention of turfmen from all parts of the country. 
When racing was revived in the North in the later six- 
ties, and the Saratoga Association and afterward the 
American Jockey Club were organized, those who were 
interested in the enterprises agreed that Mr. Wheatly was 
the one man in the country whose services were imper- 
atively needed. 

Upon the special request of Mr. John Hunter, he came 
to New York in 1865, and with Dr. John B. Irving was 
instrumental in outlining the racing policy that started 
the turf of the North upon the phenomenally brilliant 
career that distinguished it for the ne,\t ten years or more. 
His first activity was as secretary of the Saratoga Associ- 
ation. One of the first members of the American Jockey 
Club, his services to that organization were invaluable 
and upon the retirement of Dr. Irving in 1869 he became 
its secretary. For many years he continued in this 
double official capacity for Jerome Park and Saratoga, 



and when the Monmouth Park Association was reorgan- 
ized he was also retained as secretary of the new associa- 
tion. In 1S80 his secretaryship of the three enterprises 
becoming burdensome, and to a certain extent incom- 
patible one with the other, he retired from official con- 
nection with Jerome Park and Monmouth Park, and 
devoted himself exclusively to the direction of the affairs 
of the Saratoga Association. 

In 1SS4, Mr. Wheativ was invited to become secretary 
of the Maryland Jockey Club, of which he was a member, 
bLit did not accept, preferring to retain his place with 
the Saratoga Association. Throughout his active con- 
nection with the turf he was known as one of the most 
indefatigable workers, and for many years carried the 
entire burden of Saratoga upon his shoulders. He was 
not only secretary and clerk, performing all the duties 
incident to those positions, but was superintendent of 
the course and oftlcial handicapper, and even kept the ac- 
counts between owners and the association. His racing 
experience was of the most extensive character, and he 
had a knowledge of American pedigrees that was sur- 
passed by none and probably equaled by but few of his 
contemporaries. He was a veritable walking encyclo- 
pedia upon all matters relating to the turf and to the 
thoroughbred, not only of his own time, but also of the 
past. 

Most of the old-timers who were prominently identi- 
fied with the turf a generation and more ago have 
passed away before the closing years of this century 
have gone into history. Only occasionally, here and 
there, one still remains a connecting link between the 
past and the present. Judge A. C. Munson, once the 
close friend ol Mr. D. 1). Withers and the intimate asso- 
ciate of those who made the turfgre.it in the sixties, still 
survives a vigorous old man, rich in reminiscences of days 
gone by. He has had a long, and notable career. Gradu- 
ated from Columbia College, he afterward took a course 
of instruction in the Yale Law School, studied in the 
offices of Mr. Ambrose Jordan and Mr. Benjamin W. Bon- 
ney and was admitted to the bar when he was only 
twenty years of age. Associated with his brother-in- 
law, Mr. Robert H. Morris, he practiced for several years 
at the New York bar, and was soon regarded as one of 
the most promising young men of that day. 

When the excitement over the discovery of gold upon 
the Pacific Coast broke out, he caught the prevalent 
fever and went to California. It was not with pick and 
shovel that he entered upon life there. Taking his law 
books with him and hanging out a shingle in Sacra- 
mento, he entered upon the practice of law. In the 
Golden State he made rapid progress and became a 
leading member of the bar. In 1852, Governor John Bigler 
appointed him to fill a vacancy in the District Court, and 
before his term of service expired, the next Governor 



137 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



tendered hiin an appointment to the bench of the Su- 
preme Court. This offer he declined and returned to 
his former home in New Yori<. A year later, in 1858, 
he made a visit to Europe. Upon his return from 
abroad he again went to California and re-entered upon 
the practice of his profession, remaining there until 
1863. After the latter date he was settled permanently 
in New York. 

It was soon after his return to the metropolis that he 
met Mr. Withers, and the acquaintance that thus sprang 
up ripened into a friendship that has been likened to 
that of Schmucke and Pons, which Balzac has immortal- 
ized. For years, thereafter, these two companions fol- 
fowed the turf, a pair of walking encyclopedias upon all 
matters pertaining to the race track. They had the 
utmost admiration for each other and their fast friend- 
ship terminated only with the death of Mr. Withers. 
As a member of the American Jockey Club, Judge 
Munson was always regarded as a supreme authority on 
all law matters relating to the turf, both general and 
special. He was Vice-President, Treasurer and member 
of the Executive Committee of the club for more than 
twenty years. As a steward and a judge at many 
meetings, he occupied a high position in the esteem of 
his fellow turfmen and performed an important part in 
racing affairs in the sixties and seventies and even 
later. Although he never owned a race horse, few men 
have been better judges of horseflesh or more familiar 
with the history of the American thoroughbred. 

An active member of the McDaniel Confederacy with 
Colonel McDaniel and Al Gage. Mr. John E. Brewster 
had a prominent part in turf affairs, in the West espe- 
cially, for more than twenty years. He was born in 
Massachusetts in 1833, and died in 1894. After some 
years of business life in New York, he became identified 
with racing affairs in the early seventies. Among the 
horses of which he was part owner were Harry Bassett, 
Springbok, Joe Daniels, and Katie Pease, the two latter 
being famous four-milers. Katie Pease was a strong can- 
didate for the $30,000 purse that was hung up for a four- 
mile race in San Francisco in 1875, but was defeated by 
Foster. Another good horse owned by Mr. Brewster and 
his partners, was Virginius, the sire of Verge d'Or. Mr. 
Brewster was an excellent judge of horseflesh, and it 
was upon his advice that Mr. E. J. Baldwin purchased 
Rutherford and Grinstead, who won such success as 
sires at the Santa Anita Ranch. When the Washington 
Park Jockey Club was organized in 18S4, Mr. Brewster 
became its secretary, a position that he retained until 
the time of his death. He gave active personal atten- 
tion to the details of management of that club, and the 
racing conducted under its management, and had a 
reputation as a handicapper second to none of his con- 
temporaries. 



Few men have been better or more favorably known 
in modern racing circles than Dr. Gideon L. Knapp, 
who died in 189s. One of the most active members of 
the Jockey Club of New York, his reputation as a turf- 
man extended wherever thoroughbreds were run. He 
had been prominently identified with the turf for only a 
few years, his first racing being under the name of the 
(3neck Stable. But his enthusiasm, and his general 
devotion to the sport, carried him to the front with a 
rush, and gained for him a reputation that might well 
have been the result of a lifetime of work as a sportsman. 
When the Jockey Club was formed in 1894, he became 
one of its stewards, and was also the steward of various 
race meetings. In that capacity, he showed unexpected 
facility in dealing with racing affairs and was an exceed- 
ingly valuable adviser, so much so, that a great deal of 
the practical work pertaining to racing meetings con- 
stantly fell to him. As the owner of Sir Walter, one of the 
victorious two-year olds of 1892, he won special dis- 
tinction. Previous to that time, in conjunction with 
Mr. Fred Hoey and Mr. Chauncey Floyd-Jones, he 
owned Kvrle Daly out of Faux Pas. For Sir 
Walter he paid, as a yearling, $900. Subsequently, as a 
member of the Oneck Stable, he participated in the 
ownership of Fusilleer, Micmac, Queen iola, The Coon, 
Doggett and California. Aside from his career as a turf- 
man, Dr. Knapp was a successful practicing physician. 
He was the son of Mr. Gideon Knapp, who belonged 
to the older generation of New York sportsmen, and 
was a lover of fine horses, being an intimate associate of 
Commodore Vanderbilt, Robert Bonner and others. 

Among the scores, yea hundreds, of notable turfmen 
of the West, it may seem almost invidious to select any 
particular ones for special attention. As a type of his 
class, however. Major Elias Lawrence, who was the first 
secretary of the Latonia Jockey Club, was conspicuous in 
the early eighties. He was Kentuckian born, and that 
statement in itself is quite sufficient to fully account for 
his interest in the turf. He was born in Louisville, and 
his family was one of the oldest in that section of the 
country. From early youth he began to follow the race 
course and maintained that connection until the time of 
his death in 1885. During the Civil War he was engaged 
in the Confederate service, being a member of Morgan's 
famous command. As a soldier he won distinction for 
his bravery and as being a dashing, forceful officer, and 
before the end of the conflict had attained the rank of 
Major. When racing was revived in the South after the 
close of the Civil War, he again turned his attention to 
that sport, and was well known upon all the great race 
courses of the country. North and South. With the ad- 
vent of the Dwyer brothers upon the turf, he became one 
of their most intimate friends and their valued counselor. 
Upon the formation of the Latonia Jockey Club he was 



138 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



elected to be its secretary, and tor many years was the 
leading spirit of the race meetings conducted under the 
auspices of that organization. He had the honor of hav- 
ing a horse, the brother to Volturno, named alter him, a 
distinction that he probably enjoyed quite as much as 
anvthing that ever came to him in his long and memoi- 
able career. 

Another well-known horseman of the West was Mr. 
George W. Darden, of Tennessee, who, although he was 
connected with the turf only a dozen years or so, 
achieved an e.xcellent reputation as a devoted sportsman 
and capable official. He was secretary of the Nashville 
Blood Horse Association, to the success of which organ- 
ization he very materially contributed. Lord Murphv. 
who won the Kentucky Derby, was owned by him until 
sold to Mr. James R. Keene. He also owned Aranza, 
who was a great race mare, and whom he sold to Mr. 
Pierre Lorillard. Among other horses that he owned 
were Meditator and Harry Gilniore. He was particu- 
larly noted in turf circles for being always ready to sell a 
horse, no matter how good the animal might be, pro- 
vided the price suited him. 

Modern racing methods have made the handicapper 
an official whose importance is not surpassed by that of 
any of his associates. While the handicap has, from 
time immemorial, been a feature of the English turf, it 
has only come into favor in the United States in com- 
paratively recent times. Our forefathers would have 
stood aghast at the idea, and when it was first tried upon 
the old Fashion Course on Long Island it was received 
with marked disfavor. Even to this day there is a 
difference of opinion regarding the virtue of handicap- 
ping, many old turfmen still holding to the old-fashioned 
idea that a horse should be allowed to run upon his 
merit without being placed upon an artificial ec]uality 
with his competitors. Nevertheless, racing has grown 
to such enormous proportions that there is no longer any 
way of ignoring the handicap, for without it the sport 
could not be sustained upon an extensive scale for any 
length of time. 

The theory of the handicap is that it brings all horses to 
the post upon an equal footing. Whether this result is 
attained in actual practice may indeed be seriously ques- 
tioned. Handicappers, like the rest of humanity, are 
fallible, and even the great Admiral Rous did not always 
succeed in escaping just censure. The fact is, generally 
speaking, that, after all, the great handicaps of the United 
States, like the Suburban, the Brooklyn and others have, as 
a rule, been won by the crack horses. It is rare, indeed, 
that the second and third rate racers have been able to 
carry off those prizes. In other words, although the 
handicap system probably results in calling to the post 
greater fields than would otherwise be seen, it is still the 
horse of superior class that comes in first by the post 



even though he may be laden down with weight with 
the idea of giving the inferior horse something of a 
show. 

A perfect handicap is, of course, an impossibility. If 
it were otherwise we might be treated to the marvelous 
spectacle of fifteen or twenty horses finishing a race head 
and head. Such a dead heat might be sufficiently in- 
teresting and would raise the enthusiasm of the spec- 
tators to the highest pitch of excitement. But the 
knowledge that such was to be the certain result of the 
race would certainly put an end to all betting, and in 
the course of time would weaken public concern in 
racing, for the greatest interest in a racing event arises 
from the satisfaction of seeing some one horse coming 
in at the head of the field. Undoubtedly it is the bus- 
iness of the handicapper so to distribute his weights 
that the selling plater shall have an equal chance with 
the speedy sprinter, but that he is not quite able to do 
this is really the salvation of the turf, and is a source of 
gratification to the turf world, which would never be 
satisfied if the favorite fast ones did not have an advan- 
tage over the others as they pass the judges' stand. 

Handicapping came into vogue in England some three 
quarters of a century ago. It was not until a full half 
century ago, however, that it was extensively applied 
to racers of high class. One of the first great races of 
this character that was instituted was the Lincolnshire, 
which was established in the early fifties and has even 
down to the present day held its place in the front 
rank. Others rapidly followed, until it was not long 
before the handicap became so thoroughly identified 
with the English turf that it might reasonably be con- 
sidered a sort of second English racing institution. In 
the judgment of English turfmen there has never been 
but one handicapper in that country, and that was Ad- 
miral Henry John Rous. Born in 1795, Admiral Rous 
had a long and brilliant career in public life. In the navy 
he passed from the lowest to the highest grade, serving 
his country with distinction in active service at sea and 
in the more peaceful work of the Navy Department 
ashore. He was conspicuous in many engagements. 
From early youth his passion for outdoor sports was 
insatiable, and it w.is the source of his greatest satis- 
faction in life that his retirement from active service in 
thejiavy gave him the opportunity to devote himself to 
the turf 

From 1836, until the time of his death in 1S77. no 
great race meeting ever took place in England at which 
he was not present. In 1831. he became a member of 
The Jockey Club and from that time on exercised a very 
positive influence in the deliberations of that historic 
body, in 1838, he became a steward of the club, a posi- 
tion for which no man was ever better fitted, or in which 
any one ever rendered more valuable service to the tuif. 



139 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



He at once took a place as an oi^lcial far in advance 
of any of his associates by reason of his activity and his 
close application to the pursuit to which he was devot- 
ing himself. His single aim from first to last was to 
keep the turf pure and to elevate its standard, and he 
was the awe of all offenders. During the last twenty 
years of his life his influence became so paramount that 
he was universally looked up to as the dictator. A turf 
writer has said of him : " The Admiral's bold and manly 
form erect and stately, dressed in pea jacket, wearing 
long, black boots or leggings, with dog whip in hand, 
ready to mount his old bay horse for the course, no 
matter what the weather might be, was an imposing 
sight at Newmarket." 

About 1855, he took the position of public handicapper, 
and his assumption of that office was greeted with accla- 
mation. Previous to that, however, he had become well 
known as a handicapper. The first notable instance of 
his being called in to exercise this function was on the 
occasion of a match between Lord Eglinton's Flying 
Dutchman, five years old, and Lord Zetland's Voltigeur, 
four years old, at the York Spring Meeting in 185 1. 
Upon that occasion he made the older horse give the 
younger one 8>2 pounds. During the larger part of his 
racing career he managed and made all matches for the 
Duke of Bedford's stable at Newmarket, his success in 
that capacity being only second to that which he 
achieved as a handicapper. He wrote much on racing 
subjects, his contributions to The London Times es- 
pecially being voluminous and valuable, drawn as they 
were from a wide and extended experience. 

The long and brilliant career of Admiral Rous consti- 
tuted one of the most notable features that has dis- 
tinguished the English turf. As a handicapper, no man 
who ever lived attained to such distinction or won such 
enviable and well deserved renown. He was the 
Napoleon of the profession, and no one has ever pre- 
sumed to question his right of superiority. He belonged 
in a class by himself. Making a life study of the turf 
and the capacity of England's thoroughbreds, he became 
an authority such as never existed before and has not 
been seen since. During his lifetime, the English horse- 
men united almost unanimously in lauding him to the 
skies, but at the same time no one caused more swear- 
ing than he did by many of his handicaps. That he 
was subject to error and sometimes made serious 
slips is quite true, but he saved himself by maintaining 
the firmest and most persistent belief in his own infalli- 
bility, and brought the world to believe in him, which 
was certainly a tremendous triumph for any man placed 
in his position. 

Admiral Rous never lost confidence in himself down 
to the day of his death. In his opinion there never ex- 
isted any other handicapper worthy of a moment's con- 



sideration. Near the close of his life, when enfeebled by 
age and disease he was scarcely able to creep about, he 
said to a friend with whom he was one day conversing, 
" It's all very odd. I lose my way, even in going from 
the Turf Club to my house near by in Berkeley Square; 
but," and his eyes Hashed with the spirit of his best 
days as he added, " 1 can still handicap." There were 
a few who sometimes ventured to 'take him to task to 
his face for his decisions, but generally they were 
worsted who tried such an experiment. Whether true 
or not, it is related that Lord Calthorpe, whose favorite 
horse had been handicapped beyond the possibility of 
any success, ventured to raise the question of the justice 
of the weight imposed and, addressing the Admiral for 
the sake of drawing him out and getting him into a 
cornel', said : 

"Now, Admiral, do you believe that my horse has any 
chance of winning ? " 

" None whatever," was the complacent answer. 
" Do you call that handicapping, then ? I thought that 
every horse was supposed to be given an equal 
chance." 

It was not until many years after handicapping had 
been instituted in England that it became firmly estab- 
lished in this country. There were various reasons for 
this, but the principal one was, probably, that the rich 
planters south of the Mason and Dixon line, prior to the 
Civil War period, were thoroughly imbued with a liking 
for the sweepstakes for large amounts between owners 
of horses at weight-for-age and at long distances. Al- 
though it became more and more evident as the scope 
of racing enlarged that under such conditions the best 
horse had too much advantage over those who were 
inferior to him in speed or staying qualities, it was not 
easy to persuade the old-time turfmen to the innovation 
of the handicap. About the earliest example of the 
handicap in the South was in i8s6 or 1857, when the 
old South Carolina Jockey Club put upon its programme 
two or three races of this description with but little 
added money to be run for over the Charleston Course. 
A more important handicap was the Allen for a distance 
of two miles, with $2,sooadded, that was run at New- 
market, Va., in 1858, when Mr. John Hunter's Nicholas 
1. carried off the stakes. 

When racing was revived in New York and New Jer- 
sey after the close of the Civil War the handicap was 
for the first lime in this country fully adopted as a 
means of attracting large fields to the new courses. The 
first experiments were tried at the old Secaucus track, 
situated on the salt meadows in the rear of Hoboken, 
in 1 86s. Handicap hurdle races, steeple chases and one 
or two flat races were given. The first handicap on the 
flat was 2j{ miles and was won by Colonel David 
McDaniel's Oakland, five years old, a son of Revenue 



140 



TIIK AMERICAN TURF 



and Margrave. These early handicaps were far from 
successful and did not give much promise for the future. 
A few years later, however, the e.xperiment was tried 
on a larger scale and under more favorable conditions, 
when, at Jerome Park, the Grand National, the Fordham 
and the Jockey Club Handicaps were instituted by the 
American Jockey Club. These may be considered as 
really marking the definite beginning of handicapping 
in the United States. The isolated e.xampies that pre- 
ceded them were in nowise important or successful, 
and had been really put forward as novelties without 
any idea of making them permanent. Beginning with 
these Jerome Park handicaps, whicii at once took rank 
among the most popular events, both in the estimation 
of racing men and the general public, year after year 
handicapping grew steadily in favor, until now the great 
handicaps overshadow all other contests of the racing 
season. 

There are almost as many systems of handicapping as 
there are handicappers. Some men keep regular book 
accounts — that is, they write down every day names of 
the first three horses that have contended in every race 
of which a description is published, with the weights at 
which they ran and the distances between them at the 
finish. On the opposite side of the page the horses are 
rehandicapped with such variations "as it is presumed 
would be like\y to bring them to a dead heat. Other 
handicappers have been specially known for their "lad- 
ders," that is, long lists of horses handicapped over 
various courses from five furlongs upward, while the 
weights are constantly recast. It was the custom of 
Weatherby, who was for many years handicapper for 
the English Jockey Club, to go through his book anew 
for each fresh compilation, aided constantly by notes 
made from personal observation. Some handicappers 
since his time have also adhered to that practice. 

Comparatively few men are successful handicappers. 
Fngland has had, perhaps, half a dozen, of whom Ad- 
miral Rous was the most eminent. The best known 
in this country have been Mr. J. G. K. Lawrence, Cap- 
tain J. H. Coster, Mr. H. D. Mclntyre, Mr. Charles 
Wheatly and Mr. Walter S. Vosburgh. There is no 
position connected with the race track where the work 
is more arduous and the returns so inadequate, either in 
the approval of the public or the satisfaction of horse- 
men. While it is, no doubt, a difficult thing to make a 
good handicap, it becomes an impossibility to make one 
that will suit everybody. One would think that trainers 
would be people most likely to give valuable opinions 
on a handicap, but, nevertheless, they are quite as often 
in error as others. This arises from the fact that, while 
they may know individual horses thoroughly, whether 
in their own or other stables, they are apt to underrate 
liieir own and overrate others when it comes to this im- 



portant question of placing weights. After all, perhaps, 
the final judgment of the public is about as good as any 
that can be possibly had, since the followers of the turf 
are practically unbiased, and have as clear a knowl- 
edge of form as many who pass their entire lives 
in the stable. 

Every handicapper is liable to be imposed upon. It 
is at all times difficult to escape the devices of the 
trainer who is on the alert to get every advantage that 
he possibly can and, therefore, we frequently see horses 
running with from ten to twenty pounds in hand. In 
Parole's first season in England the handicappers there 
carelessly deceived themselves and let him into some 
good events at very light weight, a mistake, how- 
ever, that was not afterward repeated. Handicapping 
by committees has been sometimes tried upon the 
theory that the judgment of several men is better than 
one, but the result has almost invariably disposed of the 
theory. It is impossible to get a number of men to 
agree on any subject, and it is especially impracticable 
upon a matter like the handicap, concerning which 
there is opportunity for such wide divergence of opin- 
ion and such a multitude of contributing causes. 

It has become proverbial that no owner can ever be 
satisfied with a handicap in which he has a horse unless 
it happens that he is able to win. Devices that are 
resorted to to have weight taken off are numerous and 
sometimes successful. One of the most common is to 
run a horse until the handicapper is finally persuaded 
that he is fully entitled to come in at a feather weight. 
Then some day the owner sees his chance and pulls off 
some great prize. It occasionally happens, however, 
that this practice works out just contrary to what was 
planned by the owner and trainer. The story is told 
of a defeated owner at Guttenberg, who once gave 
vent to his disappointment in bewailings loud and long 
over the failure of such a coup that he had planned; 
"pulled him five times," he exclaimed, "and now 
when we cut him loose, he's beaten; it's too bad, too 
bad." 

Mention has already been made of Mr. James G. K. 
Lawrence as one of the best handicappers known to the 
American turf. He was among those New Yorkers 
who became interested in racing soon after the Civil 
War, and was President of the Coney Island Jockey 
Club. Up to the time of his death in 1895, he main- 
tained a prominent position in connection with the turf, 
particularly of the East. He belonged to one of the 
oldest and most aristocratic families identified with the 
history of New York from the earliest colonial days. 
His father was Governor William B. Lawrence, of Rhode 
Island, and Mr. Isaac Lawrence, the well known public 
man, was his brother. In early life he was distinguished 
as a gentleman rider, and achieved fame by beating the 



141 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



famous English cross country rider, Lord Mandeviile. 
Finally, becoming deeply interested in the turf, he was 
the junior partner in the firm of Coffin & Lawrence, and 
then was the confederate of Mr. George L. Lorillard. After 
severing his connection with Mr. Lorillard, when that 
gentleman decided to carry on his turf ventures inde- 
pendently, Mr. Lawrence was identified with the 
Shrewsbury Stable. He owned Shylock by Lexington 
out of Edith, and with him won a number of good races, 
among the best victories of that horse being the defeat 
of Asteroid at i'.- miles, and the winning of the West- 
chester Cup, 2'a miles, at Jerome Park, in 1874, when 
he beat Wanderer, Lizzie Lucas and others. 

In 1879, Mr. Lawrence became secretary of the Coney 
Island Jockey Club, and it has been well said of him that 
"there is no doubt that much of the success which fol- 
lowed the establishment of racing at Sheepshead Bay 
was due to him." Upon the death of Mr. Leonard W. 
Jerome in 1890, he became President of the Coney Island 
Jockey Club. During his official career he introduced 
many new features in the annual racing meetings that 
conduced much to the popularity of the Sheepshead Bay 
Course. He was the first to put on the card the two- 
year old handicap, and also originated the famous 
Suburban in 1884. His purpose was to arrange a race 
similar to the English City and Suburban that should 
attract the best handicap horses and be a stimulus to 
winter betting. From the start the Suburban fulfilled 
all his expectations, becoming one of the great ante-post 
betting events known to the American turf, and has 
now attained to a position unrivaled by any other racing 
event of the season. To him is also due the establish- 
ment of the Futurity, similar to the Futurity events in 
England, and he was also the author of the Realization, 
which he started in 1889. As a racing official, he was 
one of the best in the country, combining, with a 
complete knowledge of the thoroughbred and the details 
of track management, an enthusiasm, independence 
and honesty that accomplished the best results. 

.Another handicapper, who was particularly distin- 
guished in the generation that has just passed away, was 
Captain J. H. Coster. Associated with Messrs. John C. 
Stevens, Robert Cambridge ^Livingston, John King and 
other well known New Yorkers in an unselfish devotion 
to the turf back in the fifties, Captain Coster at the time 
of his death, in 189s, was one of the last connecting 
links between this generation of racing men and that 
which had gone before. When Messrs. Stevens, Liv- 
ingston and others abandoned the turf on account of the 
evil condition into which it had fallen in the decade pre- 
ceding the war. Captain Coster still maintained his inter- 
est in it and kept in touch with the institution until its 
brighter days came in the seventies and eighties. When 
a young man he was a well known amateur rider and 



was secretary of the American Jockey Club and the 
Monmouth Park Association during the last years of the 
existence of those bodies. During the Civil War, he 
served in the Union Army. It was a singular coincidence 
that upon the day of his funeral also occurred the funerals 
of two other well-known and popular gentlemen who 
had long been connected with the turf These were Dr. 
Gideon L. Knapp, whose death occurred upon the same 
day as that of Captain Coster, and Mr. Robert Cam- 
bridge Livingston, who although, in his latter years, he 
had entirely retired from participation in turf affairs, was 
a useful and working member of the executive com- 
mittee of the Coney Island Jockey Club when that 
organization first started and contributed much to placing 
the club in a firm position with the racing fraternity of 
the country. 

Captain Coster was a firm believer in the "ladder" 
system of handicapping. When he was handicapper tor 
Monmouth Park the results that he brought forth through 
his original method were sometimes astounding. One 
of his practices was to add five pounds to a horse for 
winning a race and take off five pounds for losing. The 
story is told that a facetious owner once erected a monu- 
ment over the grave of one of his thoroughbreds and 
inscribed upon the front of the pedestal, "He carried 
top weight in Coster's handicap and won." 

You can trust the trainers to quickly discover the fail- 
ings of a handicapper, starter or judge, and Captain 
Coster was often the victim of their cunningness. In his 
latter days the good old Captain lost something of his 
shrewdness and became rather prejudiced. Taking 
advantage of this peculiarity the trainers adopted a very 
simple method of engineering a heavy weight on a horse 
which they feared. Accidentally coming together with- 
in hearing of the handicapper, they would talk in 
a mysterious way about the great work of this horse, 
what he had done upon his trials and how sure 
he was to beat anything on the track if only it was 
possible to keep information from the handicapper about 
his splendid form. A sudden surprise at discovering 
("aptain Coster within hearing distance of their whis- 
pered conversation would break up the meeting, while 
the unsuspicious old Captain would piomptly add ten 
or fifteen pounds to the weight that he had already fixed 
for this particular horse. 

Down to 1894, the general management of racing 
affairs upon the important courses in the vicinity of New 
York had been for many years delegated by the several 
associations to a Board of Control. This arrangement 
offered in many respects an agreeable solution of some 
of the difficult problems that attended the harmonizing 
of the conflicting interests of the different facts, and at 
the same time reformed, or at least restricted some of 
the evils which inevitably thrust themselves upon the 



142 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



race course. It was not, however, an ideal arrange- 
ment, being t'ound to be detective at some important 
points. The several associations who had organized this 
Board of Control and subjected themselves to its author- 
ity, were not always satisfied witii its decisions, and 
ultimately there came about a great deal of clashing and 
some ill feeling. Moreover, the ever returning abuses 
showed themselves constantly and grew so steadily in 
strength that ultimately the Board of Control found itself 
powerless to destroy them. 

In the summer of iSqs particularly, racing in the 
vicinity of New York was decidedly overrun. The rich 
returns that the turf offered to owners had proved very 
alluring to many individuals of a speculative turn of 
mind, and, in New Jersey in particular, race courses had 
multiplied until they practically exceeded the demand of 
the race loving public. Many of them inevitably became 
of questionable character, and the free and easy manner 
in which they were conducted reflected indirectly even 
upon honest racing. It was plain to be seen that the 
public which heretofore had followed racing with more 
or less enthusiasm was losing its interest in the sport. 
Even at Sheepshead Bay the attendance in the summer 
of i8q3 was largely reduced, a condition of things that 
was the direct result of the disrepute into which racing 
had fallen on account of the evil practices that had 
attached to it elsewhere. That year the Coney Island 
Jockey Club was $60,000 out of pocket. 

incidents connected with the Monmouth Park Associ- 
ation management that season aggravated the situation, 
and these have not yet passed out of the remembrance 
of turfmen. The prolongation of the racing season at 
Monmouth, by giving a twenty-six days' meeting in 
August, interfered seriously with the other associations 
that were members of the Board of Control and caused 
a great deal of ill feeling. Practices in relation to handi- 
caps and betting were tolerated there that brought 
discredit to the cause of racing. In the free criticism 
which was made upon the transactions of the Monmouth 
(bourse, the stewards of the Association became resentful 
and ruled off two prominent turf writers from the 
grounds. The Coney Island Jockey Club was asked to 
support this action of Monmouth Park, but declined to 
do so and took sharp issue with the managers of the 
New Jersey Course. Mr. J. G. K. Lawrence, who was 
then president of the club and its representative upon 
the Board of Control, resigned from the fatter body. 
As a result, whatever power had heretofore rested in 
this board, was seriously weakened; it lost prestige 
and influence and racing was in a fair way to fall back 
into a state of indiscriminate irresponsibility. 

Recognizing that the condition of affairs then existing 
carried the seeds of the destriiction of the turf, some of 
the leading horsemen of New York and vicinity held re- 



peated conferences during the late winter of 1893 and 
discussed vaiious measmes for relief. As a first propo- 
sition it was admitted that many impurities had become 
attached to the turf, and that there was a great deal of 
bad racing, and it was also felt that the difficulties that 
lay in the way of reform were largely owing to the rac- 
ing associations themselves. As one of the most out- 
spoken supporters of the New York turf, at that time, 
said in speaking of the subject: "One of the primary 
troubles is an outgrowth of the methods by which racing 
associations obtain their revenues. They demand from 
bookmakers $100 a day each. Upon those days when 
large stakes are to be decided, there are probably an 
average of 120 bookmakers in the ring, who, altogether, 
are compelled to pay for the privilege $12,000. Their 
other expenses, hire of clerks, etc., generally swell that 
amount by half as much more. Now, in order to get 
back their money and make their business a paying ven- 
ture, many of them are almost obliged to resort to dis- 
honest practices. Thus the associations have placed 
them in a position which puts a premium upon crook- 
edness. Not all of them are thus inclined, but the 
weakest of them will naturally take every possible 
chance to reap gains. As a logical result trainers and 
jockeys are debauched and racing is not racing at all." 

While the point touched upon in this opinion did not, 
by any manner of means, cover the whole case, yet it 
was regarded as fairly describing one of the greatest 
evils of the day that was leally the root of a good part 
of the trouble in which the associations found them- 
selves, and of the criticism to which they were sub- 
jected by the public. 

Messrs. James R. Keene, J. H. Bradford and John 
Hunter were among the earliest to institute active 
measures looking toward the ultimate achievement of 
the reform which all agreed was an imperative neces- 
sity of the situation. It was decided by these gentle- 
men and others with whom they conferred that the new 
movement should emanate from people who were most 
vitally interested in racing, that is, the owners of horses. 
At a meeting called by Mr. Keene the plan was fully ex- 
plained and was received with hearty approval. Pro- 
longed discussion of details followed and lasted well 
through the winter. Finally, several committees were 
appointed from the different organizations whose co- 
operation was sought for. Messrs. John Hunter, August 
Belmont and James Galway represented the Board of 
Control. Dr. Gideon L. Knapp and Messrs. James R. 
Keene, W. P. Thompson and Perry Belmont repre- 
sented the horse owners. Messrs. J. G. K. Lawrence, 
John G. Heckscher and F. Gray Griswold represented 
the Coney Island Jockey Club and Mr. P. J. Dwyer 
represented the Brooklyn Jockey Club. 

During the winter the committees held frequent ses- 

143 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



sions and gave much time and labor to the consideration 
of the subject. At last agreement was reached upon the 
point of organizing a Jockey Club as the most practical 
means of accomplishing the much-desired reform. To 
add strength to the proposed organization, careful 
thought was given to plans to secure alike the confi- 
dence and the support of the owners of grounds on 
which races were run and the owners of horses which 
participated in the races. It was recognized that the 
existing state of things could not last forever and it was 
believed that such an organization as was contemplated 
in The Jockey Club might make a very distinct impres- 



track. The point was made that it might be a very un- 
wise thing to allow any outside organization to thus 
dictate to the different associations how they should 
conduct their affairs. Ultimately, however, all came to 
the conclusion that the plan probably offered the most 
likely means of destroying evils which were now every- 
where recognized. The Jockey Club finally entered upon 
its work with the cordial support of all the leading turf- 
men and approved by whoever had the best interests of 
racing at heart. It proceeded in a practical way to 
draw up revised rules for the government of racing upon 
the courses that recognized its authority, to institute 



sion upon associations and compel them to modify in many reforms, especially as pertained to racing and bet- 



some way the method of obtaining revenue for the track 
and also be influential in many other matters that were 
necessary for the complete purification of the turf. As 
Mr. James R. Keene said, at the time, in discussing the 
situation and the causes that led to establishing The 
Jockey Club, " the thing to do is to clean up the turf, 
make it decent and re-establish public confidence in it." 
The rules governing the English turf were practically 
adopted and the new Jockey Chib received its charter 



ting and to fix upon measures for the enforcement of 
discipline more vigorously than had been for some time 
before known. The rules related particularly to the 
recognition of meetings, the forfeit list, fraudulent prac- 
tices, jockeys, duties of stewards and other officials and 
the registration of horses and entries of starters. 

An arrangement was consummated with the American 
Turf Congress by which reciprocal relations between the 
two associations was assured, so that punishments 



early in 1894, entering upon its work in the spring of inllicted by The Jockey Club in the East should be recog- 



that year. Its incorporators were Messrs. Perry Bel- 
mont, W. P. Thompson, James R. Keene, Olivei' H. 
Payne, William C. Whitney, Frank K. Sturgis, J. B. 
Haggin, John Hunter, Andrew J. Cassatt, Gideon L. 
Knapp and James Galway. The first piesident was Mr. 
John Hunter and the other ofl^lcers were Mr. James R. 
Keene, vice-president; Mr. F. K. Sturgis, secretary and 
treasurer, and Mr. E. O. Hanlan, assistant secretary. 
Stewards were elected, those for two years being 
Messrs. August Belmont, John Hunter, James R. Keene, 
snd Frank K. Sturgis, and those for one year Messrs. 
J. O. Donner, Gideon L. Knapp and William P. Thomp- 
aon. The membership of the club was limited to fifty, 
and among the original members were Messrs. A. J. 
Cassatt, Gideon L. Knapp, William H. Forbes, James R. 
Keene, Augustus Clason, P. J. Dwyer, J. O. Donner, 
Edward Kelly, John Hunter, 0. H. Payne, A. F. Wal- 
cott, E. S. Knapp, W. Seward Webb, J. B. Haggin, 
Rudolph Ellis, Perry Belmont, James Galway, F. K. 
Sturgis, W. C. Whitney, S. S. Brown, August Belmont, 
A. H. Morris, W. K. Vanderbilt, J. G. K. Lawrence, J. 
G. Heckscher, George Peabody Wetmore and W. P. 
Thompson. To these were subsequently added Messrs. 
Foxhall P. Keene, Oliver H. P. Belmont, Benjamin F. 
Tracy, John M. Bowers, Samuel S. Howland, James O. 
Green, Jacob Ruppert, Jr., W. S. Johnson, J. Pierpont 
Morgan and others. 

Opposition to the plans of The Jockey Club were not 
altogether absent, and some very reputable and influen- 
tial turfmen were inclined to regard with doubt the pro- 
priety of this assumption of authority over the race 



nized and made to apply upon the courses of the West 
that came under the jurisdiction of the Turf Congress. 
New rules were also drawn up, so as to do away with 
the winter racing that had been such a source of annoy- 
ance and discredit to the tui'f of the North and a 
hindrance to the prosperity of the South. By this 
arrangement winter racing was calculated to be confined 
to their natural localities, the South and California. Par- 
ticular strength lay in the powers of the stewards, to 
whom were delegated the right of appointing racing 
officials and of enforcing and collecting forfeits, and who 
also were constituted a Board of Appeal. The officials 
appointed by the club for its first year were: Mr. James 
G. Rowe, starter; Mr. R.W.Simmons, presiding judge; 
Messi's. Victor C. Smith and C. McDowell, judges; Mr. 
C. J. Fitzgerald, clerk of scales; Mr. W. S. Vosburgh, 
handicapper; Mr. John Hoey, patrol judge, and Mr. F. 
M. Hall, starting judge. 

From the very outset The Jockey Club fully justified 
the highest expectations that had been formed concern- 
ing it. The powers that were delegated to it by the 
Eastern horsemen were exercised in a conservative 
manner that ultimately redounded to the benefit of both 
horsemen and racing associations, and that spoke vol- 
umes for the wisdom and disinterested spirit of the gen- 
tlemen who had thus come forwaid and given their 
time to the rescue of the sport. During the first season 
of its existence the club did so much to elevate racing, 
and its aims and purposes were so palpably in the right 
direction, that criticism was almost entirely disarmed. 
What little objection had existed at the outset in certain 



144 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



quarters completely disappe;ued. It was generally felt 
that at last alTairs in New York were in the hands of 
gentlemen of standing and responsibility, who cmild 
safely be trusted to jealously guard the good name and 
the reputation of the turf. A year later, when new legis- 
lation particularly pertaining to betting upon races was 
placed upon the statute book, the powers of The Jockey 
Club were enlarged and its capacity for usefulness 
further augmented. 

During the five years that it has been in existence, the 
I lub has practically revolutionized the conduct of racing 
upon the courses of the Hast, and has succeeded in 
placing the turf upon a substantial foundation and identi- 
fying it in the public eye solely with honoi'able practices 
and business-like methods. By its supervision of jockeys 
and trainers it has done a great work, not alone in the 
East but also in the West, where its inlUience, if not its 
authority, is fully recognized. Many important cases have 
come before it for adjudication, and its decisions have in- 
variably been characterized by wisdom and a devotion 
to the best interests of the turf without regard to personal 
considerations of any character whatsoever. 

That supervision of the nature undertaken by The 
Jockey Club was absolutely needed scarcely required 
demonstration, it was so plainly obvious. An additional 
proof of the necessity of the work and of the wis- 
dom that placed it in the hands of those who have 
carried it out, was apparent in the successful operation 
of the reforms that were instituted. Historians of the 
future will undoubtedly recognize The Jockey Club as 
the most potent intluence in advancing the cause of racing 
that has ever existed in the United States down to the 
present time. It is not beyond the range of possibility 
that the club may ultimately become to the American 
turf what The Jockey Club of England is to the turf of 
that country. That an organization formed upon these 
lines and engaging the services of the leading turfmen 
of the country must be useful beyond measure and 
instrumental in lifting the turf to a position of standing, 
intluence and permanency, such as it has never enjoyed 
before, will scarcely be questioned by anyone familiar 
with the situation and with the success that has crowned 
the administration of this Jockey Club. Beginning the 
tilth year of its existence in 1898, the officers of The 
Jockev Club were Mr. August Belmont, chairman; Mr. 
James R. Keene, vice-chairman; Mr. F. K. Sturgis, sec- 
retary and treasurer; Mr. P. O. Hanlon, assistant secre- 
tary; Messrs. August Belmont, J. H. Bradford, F. R. 
Hitchcock, James R. Keene, Andrew Miller, F. K. Stur- 
gis and James Galway, stewards, and Mr. Walter S. 
Vosburgh, racing secretary. 

Every true friend of the turf recognizes the incalculable 
benefit that the institution derives from a favorable public 
estimation that is stimulated by the presence in its inmost 



counsels of what may be termed a disinterested element 
composed of gentlemen to whom the sport is absolutely 
a matter of pleasure and not a money-making business. 
The great racing associations of this country and the 
bodies which virtually legislate for the American turf 
have ever been fortunate in this respect. They enjoy the 
active participation of a small, but very inlluential array 
of sportsmen prominent in the business and social world, 
whose interest in racing is altogether of the nature just 
referred to, and whose presence is a guarantee to the 
public at large ol the fairness and unbiased character of 
the decisions in regard to general policy or matters of 
detail that are necessary from time to time in the govern- 
ment of the sport. The English turf, which serves as 
the example to the whole racing world, owes much of 
its popularity to the well-known fact that such an element 
has always been conspicuous in connection with its 
affairs. 

Following in the footsteps of the Old World in this 
respect, the leaders of our own racing community have 
done wisely in seeking the co-operation of men of the 
same calibre here, who, while not directly interested as 
owners of horses, are, nevertheless, distinguished by a 
devotion to the sport and whose self-sacrificing spirit 
impels them to contribute no small measure of time and 
labor to duties in this connection which could not well 
be committed to other hands. The Jockey Club has 
been especially happy in having been able to enlist from 
the outset the services of gentlemen of this character. A 
good beginning was made by placing in official position 
those in whom the general public had the fullest con- 
fidence, and upon whom all racing interests were satis- 
fied to depend with the fullest assurance that nothing, 
which, through knowledge of the turf, conscientious 
devotion to its affairs and careful foresight could formu- 
late to the advantage of all concerned, would be left 
undone. That the results have fully justified all expecta- 
tions, doesnotany longeradmit of even the slightest doubt. 

Upon the resignation of Mr. John Hunter, as the first 
Chairman of the Board of Stewards, and from his active 
participation in the affairs of the organization, he was 
succeeded by Mr. August Belmont, under whose admin- 
istration the club has attained to a success and an infiu- 
ence far beyond even that which was hoped for by most 
enthusiastic friends at its inception. Mr. Belmont be- 
longs to a family whose name will stand as high as any 
in the racing annals of the United States. His father, as 
we have had occasion to demonstrate elsewhere, did as 
much as any other single individual to place the Ameri- 
can turf of contemporaneous times upon a firm founda- 
tion. The second Mr. August Belmont has succeeded 
his father as a prominent figure in the commercial, 
social and turf life of the present day. It is unnecessary 
to dwell at length upon his career. 



145 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



He was born in New York, in 1854, and was pre- has given attention to racing matters. Not alone as 

pared for college at the Rectory School, at Hamden, Chairman of The Jockey Club has he been prominent, but 

Conn., and at Philips Exeter Academy. Being gradu- his position in connection with racing was officially rec- 

ated from Harvard College, in the class of 1874, he ognized in his appointment by Governor Levi P. 

entered the banking house of his father in the same year Morton as chairman of the State Racing Commission of 

and was made a partner in 1885. Upon the death of New York, an organization for the promotion of turf 

his father, in i8qo, he became the head of the establish- interests, to which more power and influence for good 

ment with which the Belmont name has been so long attaches than to any other ever known in this country. 

identified. The part he has played in the financial Mr. Belmont's record as Chairman of The Jockey Club 



world and the eminent 
services he has ren- 
dered to the Govern- 
ment and the com- 
mercial community are 
part of the contempo- 
rary history of our 
country. As a financier 
he has long held pre- 
eminent position and 
has a reputation that 
is not limited by the 
confines of his native 
land. He has been 
engaged in large 
monetary operations, 
and on occasions has 
been of material assist- 
ance to the United 
States Government in 
carrying out financial 
transactions of the 
greatest importance to 
the welfare of the 
national treasury. 

inheriting his father's 
love of racing and 
breeding, Mr. Belmont 
had the confidence of 
his parent during the 
hitter's career on the 
turf and was fully 
acquainted with his 
theories and plans. As 
the proprietor of the 
Blemton stable, and 
later under his own 



•ij- 



AUGUST BELMONT 

CHAIRMAN, THE JOCKEY CLUB 



name, he has become as conspicuous upon the turt as was 
his father before him. His fame as a successful ownerand 
a sportsman of the foremost class does not obscure the 
fact that he has also inherited his father's eminent po- 
sition in affairs relating to the administration and legis- 
lation of the tuif. In fact, the commanding influence 
attached to the distinguished name that he bears in con- 
nection with the sport has increased each year that he from Europe while the' matter was still at fever heat, Mr. 

146 



has excited the admira- 
tion of his associates 
and received the com- 
mendation of the turf 
world generally. He 
has developed excep- 
tional talent in the 
management of turf 
affiiirs and it has been 
well said of him by 
one who is most famil- 
iar with what he has 
done, that " He is more 
than his father's son, 
and the club could not 
have had a better or 
safer leader. He im- 
presses one as not 
looking for a personal 
a d va n tage, but as 
working for the gen- 
eral good. He is a 
born diplomat and has 
the faculty of con- 
ciliating conflicting in- 
terests, talking with 
people and winning 
them over by argument 
and suggestion and a 
frank exhibition of true 
sincerity." 

An interview with 
one of the officials of 
The Jockey Club, pub- 
lished in 1896, related 
in detail some inci- 
dents in his career that 
illustrated his remarkable faculty of meeting threat- 
ening issues. It appears that during the previous 
summer the atmosphere was full of evil and scanda- 
lous reports concerning turf matters. The stewards 
of The Jockey Club had worked hard to get some 
tangible evidence of fraud, but had accumulated only a 
mass of report based upon tattle and hearsay. Returning 




^ 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Belmont sent at once for the newspaper representatives to carve his own wav in the world. Kor several years 
and pointed out to thein the harm that they were doint; he was engatjed in mining and other allied business 
by accepting idle rumor tor tacts. He also conferred pursuits, and also edited a newspaper. Afterward he 
with certain owners and trainers and convinced them ot became interested in mining properties in Nevada, and 
their suicidal policy in circulating reports not based upon then, going to San Francisco, entered the stock market, 
facts, and in doing things that might give rise to suspi- where he soon acquired a moderate fortune, 
cion. The interview, the substance of which has just Having a natural talent for speculation, he thenceforth 
been given, went on to say that from that moment the devoted himself to that pursuit, and was rapidly success- 
atmosphere changed, the press began to help the ful in spite of occasional reverses. Becoming a member 
stewards in their efforts to stamp out rascality, and of the Stock Exchange of San Francisco, he was subse- 
trainers. jockeys and owners bent their best energies in quently elected its president, and when the Bank of 
getting their horses to the front. Confidence was thus California failed he was able to be one of the four con- 
re-established, and since that time nothing has occurred tributors of a million dollars to the guarantee fund neces- 
again to undermine it or give the public any apprehen- sary to save that institution from ruin. Leaving Cali- 



sion concerning the hon- 
esty of the race course. 
The work which Mr. Bel- 
mont did at this juncture 
was of more than ordi- 
nary importance, but it is 
only a single example out 
of many that might be 
cited to show the perfect 
hold which he has upon 
all turf affairs and the gen- 
uine diplomatic ability 
with which he handles 
the work which lalls to 
his share to do. 

No name has been moi'e 
conspicuouslv iden tilled 
with the American turf 
of modern times than 
that of Mr. James R. 
Keene, Vice-Chairman of 
the jockey Club. A na- 
tive of England, he has, 
nevertheless, been so long 
connected with business 
interests in America, and 
has shown himself so 




JAMES R. KEENE 

VICE-CHAIRMAN, THE JOCKEY CLUB 



lornia in 1877, he engaged, 
for a short time, in stock 
speculation in New York 
and then visited Europe. 
Upon his return from the 
Old World he settled in 
New York City, where he 
has since been a resident 
and has been frequently 
engaged in large financial 
operations. He has been 
one of the most conspicu- 
ous figures in the financial 
world of the metropolis 
for nearly twenty years, 
and has also occupied 
a considerable place in 
social affairs. He is a 
man of large fortune and 
has done as much as anv 
other single individual to 
stimulate Wall Street in 
these later days. 

Like so many other 
gentlemen of wealth who 
have added distinction to 
the Northern turf in this 



thoroughly in sympathy with all American institu- latter part of the nineteenth century, Mr. Keene has had a 
tions that the fact of his having been born in Eng- notable turf career. There are few, i1 any, American horse- 
land is probably unknown to most people. In fact, men who have ever surpassed him in devotion to racing 
he came to this country at such an early age— when interests, in liberality of expenditures and in brilliancy of 
he was only fourteen years old— that his education achievements. His name is known in this connection 
and subsequent business training were thoroughly throughout two continents, and the horses that he has 
American. He was born in England, in 1838, the son owned have often carried his colors to renown. Had he 
of a London merchant, and received his early educa- never owned any other thoroughbreds than Foxhall and 
tion in Lincolnshire and m Dublin, Ireland. His parents Domino, his name would be emblazoned upon the pages 
came to the United States in 1852, bringing him with of American turf history in letters that can never fade, 
them, and settled in the northern part of the State of He was one of the first horsemen to recognize, in the 
California. There, at an earlv age, he entered upon earlv nineties, the imperative demand for a reform in turf 
business life with energy and ambition and proceeded matters. As early as 189^, he began to agitate the sub- 

147 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ject nnd tried to impress his fellow-turfmen with what 
he regarded as the urgency of the situation. He insisted 
that what was first necessary was to establish a central 
authority for the government of racing on broader lines 
than those on which the Board of Control, which was 
then in existence, was built. 

He made a study of the English system of turf govern- 
ment, and he was satisfied that it was the best that could 
be devised, because it embodied the experience and 
views of the ablest men in that country, where racing is 
an old institution and the rules the outgrowth of long 
experience. In the subsequent discussions of this subject 
between representatives of the Board of Control, the 
horse owners and the several jockey clubs, Mr. Keene 
was particularly active and influential, and it is in no 
small measure due to him that the different elements 
were ultimately brought to the point of realizing the 
necessity of carrying out some such plans as he had 
formulated. Finally came the incorporation of The 
Jockey Club, of which he was elected vice-chairman, a 
position that he has ever since retained. He has been 
one of the working members of the Board of Stewards, 
and by his thorough knowledge of turf rules and the 
practices of racing in this country and in Europe, and his 
keen sympathy both for horse owners on the one side 
and the gentlemen who are the substantial supporters of 
racing, he has excercised a strong and healthful influence. 

In many years Mr. Keene had associated with him his 
son, Mr. Foxhall P. Keene, who is scarcely less well 
known than his father in the racing world. The Keene 
Stable has been as distinguished as any other in the 
United States, and its victories have often been of the 
most notable character, in 1893, for example, the year 
of the wonderful performances of the invincible Domino, 
the stable stood at the head of the list of winners for the 
season. Its winnings in stakes and purses ran up to 
$279,458, an amount that was unprecedented in the his- 
tory of the American turf as the result of the work of a 
single stable in one year. Besides Domino, El Telegrafo 
by Tremont out of Marguerite, Hornpipe by Mr. Pick- 
wick out of Round Dance, and St. Leonards by St. Blaise 
out of Bella Donna, were the principal members of the 
stable, which also included Hyderabad by Hyder Ali 
out of Glorianne, Chorister by Falsetto out of Addie C, 
Lidgerwood by Luke Blackburn out of Tuscarora, 
Soprano by Falsetto out of Lady Athol, and ten others. 



turfmen of this generation by virtue of his enterprise 
and the well deserved success that has so generally 
crowned his efforts. Mr. Keene's career on the turf has 
been practically divided into two periods, the one dis- 
tinguished by the achievements of Foxhall and the other 
by the performances of Domino. For several years after 
Foxhall's great campaign in England, his owner still con- 
tinued to show his colors at many race meetings; but, 
after a time, he dropped out of the field. His retirement 
was only temporaiy, however, for early in the nineties 
he began the oiganization of another stable and took up 
his old interest in the turf 

This was just at that critical time, when, as we have 
seen, racing affairs were in an unfortunate condition and 
were imperatively in need of the good will and the wise 
judgment of as many honorable sportsmen like Mr. 
Keene, as could be drawn to its support. As has been 
clearly demonstrated, his return to the turf was greatly 
to the advantage of I'acing matters from every point of 
view. He has been among the most generous purchas- 
ers of thoroughbred stock that this country has ever 
known, and the success of his horses has often been of 
such a brilliant character as to excite the liveliest enthu- 
siasm, not alone of the general public, but also of racing 
men. That added to the great value of his services in 
the purification of the turf in this period, has made him 
undoubtedly one of the most important factors in stim- 
ulating honorable racing and in encouraging breeding 
that the present generation has known. 

Not to content himself with activity in this counf.y 
alone, he has, since his last return to the turf carried his 
colors again to England, the scene of his earlier triumphs. 
There in recent years he has been represented by many high 
class blood horses. His victories in the Foxhall year, how- 
ever, have not since been approached, and his later career 
in England has been somewhat less sensationally notable 
than that of some of the more recent Americans. It 
has, however, been marked by an unswerving devotion 
to sporting of the highest character and to American 
standards. He has always had a truly representative 
American stable in England, and there have been few 
years when the entries for the important events of the 
English turf have not included his name. 

For example, in 1895, he had entered for the Cesare- 
witch. Hornpipe and Round Dance, and for the Cam- 
bridgeshire, Hornpipe and that beloved and regretted 



The total number of races run by the stable was 135, of wonder. Domino. Although only a few runners carried 



which 35 were won. Domino won all the races in 
which he was entered, nine in number, and carried off 
$191,780. 

The record of this particular year has been given, not 
alone on account of its extraordinary character, but also 
as illustrating the magnitude of Mr. Keene's turf interests 
and the exceptional high position that he holds among 



his colors in 1897, the form which they exhibited was 
fine enough to encourage such an energetic and far-seeing 
turfman to strengthen his forces abroad by the shipment 
of several fleet racers for ensuing years. In many 
instances of late, fortune has been more harshly unkind 
to him than those who have followed his career with 
interest could wish. In 1897, he was specially unfbrtu- 



14S 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



n;ite in losing the Cambiidgesiiire by a IilmJ, tiirougii 
the carelessness of the jockey, who rode his big colt, 
St. (".loLid, a misfortune that was a source of great regret, 
not only among Americans, but even among Knglish 
turfmen who have cordially recognized his sportsman- 
ship and enterprise. 

In a social and business sense, Mr. Frank K. Sturgis, 
Secretary and Treasurer of The Jockey Club, is one of 



associates to be a member of the Board of Stewards and 
Secretary and Treasurer, and in that position he has 
been both active and intluential to an exceptional degree, 
bringing to his work, as a racing official, the same com- 
bination of executive ability and of capacity to command 
respect and co-operation that have marked his career in 
other respects. His conspicious services to The Jockey 
Club have fully demonstrated the .soundness of judgment 



the best known and most highly respected citizens of of his associates who selected him for that position. 
New York, and also holds an enviable position in the The office is one of exceptional responsibility and labor, 
estimation of the racing public. A native of New York and Mr. Sturgis assumed it much against his inclination, 
City, he is an example of 
the best type of energetic, 
patriotic citizens of the 
metropolis. Now a little 
more than fifty years of 
age. he has been identi- 
fied with financial affairs 
throughout his entire life, 
and has a reputation as a 
financier second to none 
of his time. As a mem- 
ber of the banking house 
of Strong, Sturgis & Co.. 
he has long been an 
important factor in Wall 
Street, and the highest 
honors in financial circles 
in New York have from 
time to time been be- 
stowed upon him. In 
1892, and again in 1893, 
he was elected President 
of the New York Stock 
Hxchange, and in that 
position achieved much 
more than local reputa- 
tion in the financial world. 
Mr. Sturgis is pre-emi- 
nently one of those gentle- 
men who dignify wealth 
and social position. He 
has displayed an active 
interest in the social and 
benevolent institutions 01 
the metropolis, and has 

been conspicious in many of the leading activities of the 
citv outside of the purely business world. 

As an incident in his busy and successful life, his 
devotion to horses and racing has been of a genuine 
character, and none of his associates have surpassed him 
in the energetic and disinterested service he has given to 




FRANK K. STURGIS 
SECRETARY AND TREASURER, THE JOCKEY CLUB 



Prominent and active in 



and only upon the stren- 
uous insistance of his 
fiicnds that he was pecu- 
liarly fitted for it and that 
the best interests of the 
tuil demanded tliat he 
should make this sacrifice 
of his personal wishes. 
He found the work inci- 
dental to the position not 
without its agreeable fea- 
tures, and has executed its 
duties with marked suc- 
cess, while the opportu- 
nity thus afforded him to 
labor for the real welfare 
of the turf is one that has 
been a source of consider- 
able satisfaction to him. 

While Mr. Sturgis' in- 
terest in racing has been 
mainly centred in the re- 
sponsible and dignified 
position that he occupies 
as Secretary and Treas- 
urer of The Jockey Club, 
he has long been promi- 
nent in other bodies which 
are closely allied to the 
turf and which have done 
much to elevate the 
standard of horseflesh in 
America and to popu- 
larize the pursuit in con- 
nection with the horse, 
the organization of the 



Madison Sqiiare Garden Company, he became a member 
of the Board of Directors and its first President. The 
National Horse Show Association, of which he has been 
an officer, owes much of its success to his active efforts 
in its behalf and to his prominence in its counsels. He 
the promotion of the turf Upon the organization of is also a governor of the Turf and Field Club and of 
The Jockey Club in 1894, he was selected by his the Westchester Racing Association. On the Board of 

■ 19 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Directors of the Westchester Association he holds a 
prominent place as the particular representative of those 
social elements that gave to the old Jerome Park that 
popularity and standing that was its peculiar distmc- 
tion and that has been inherited by its successor. 

In Mr. F. O. Hanlon, the Assistant Secretary of 
The Jockey Club, the organization has a thoroughly ca- 
pable and energetic official. Much of the executive work 
falls to his share and his extensive acquaintance with 
racing men and famili- 
arity with turf affairs 
generally has enabled 
h i m to contribute 
much to the general 
efticiency of the work 
done by the club. 

Mr. John H. Brad- 
ford, one of the Stew- 
ards of The Jockey 
Club and Treasurer 
of the Coney Island 
Jockey Club, comes of 
an old Massachusetts 
family that has been 
established in that sec- 
tion since the earliest 
colonial days. He was 
born in England while 
his parents were trav- 
eling abroad, but that 
trilling circumstance 
has not been sufficient 
to make him other- 
wise than a sound pa- 
triotic American. His 
early years were pass- 
ed in Boston, wheie 
he was brought up 
and educated under 
the most wholesome 
New England influ- 
ences. His entire busi- 
ness life has been spent 
in New York, with 
whose business and 
social institutions he 



interests. His business called him several times a year 
to Cincinnati in the seventies, and while there it was the 
most natural thmg in the world that he should take ad- 
vantage of his opportunities to pay many visits to Ken- 
tucky, the Mecca of all good American horsemen. Thus, 
he became intimately acquainted with General Brecken- 
ridge and other noted turfmen of that section, and had 
his attention particularly called to the thoroughbred to 
which Kentucky has always been devoted. Thus began 

his first interest in the 
running horse that he 
has maintained ever 
since, finding it year 
after year a constantly 
increasing source of 
pleasure. 

Soon his interest in 
the blood horse over- 
shadowed that which 
he had hitherto felt in 
the trotter and devel- 
oped to s\jch an extent 
that he became an 
important factor in 
racing affairs in the 
East. In the early 
years at Jerome Park 
he was associated with 
Mr. Leonard Jerome 
and other leading turf- 
men of that period and 
became identified with 
the running turf in an 
active and practical 
manner. Since that 
time he has been fore 
most in the direction 
of Eastern turf affairs 
and has an enviable 
reputation for the com- 
pleteness and sound- 
ness of his knowledge 
of the thoroughbred 
and ofthe practical de- 
tails of racing. For a 
period of ten years he 




JOHN H. BRADFORD 
STEWARD, THE JOCKEY CLUB 



has long been completely identified. Interested in horses was presiding judge ofthe Coney Island Jockey Club, 



from his youth, he has been an owner almost from the time 
of his earliest remembrance. At one period of his life he 
paid a great deal of attention to the trotter and maintained 
a private breeding establishment for horses of that fam- 
ily and for roadsters. For more than twenty-five years 
however, the running horse has commanded his atten- 
tion and enlisted his active labors in promotion of its 



That was at a time when the judges gave their services 
as a labor of love, being actuated wholly by their unsel- 
fish interest in the sport. Salaried judges were not then 
thought of as necessary or even a desirable adjunct to 
race meetings. 

In 1884, Mr. Bradford became Treasurer ot the Coney 
Island Jockey Club and has held that position continuously 



150 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ever since. As a Steward of The Jockev Ckib lie has been 
one of the hardest workiiisj; members of that boaid. and 
one upon whose judi^ment and practical knowledj^e 
threat dependence is placed. He is a profound believei' in 
the great future of the Amei'ican tuif, and is conlident that 
the reforms that have been instituted in its manairement 



the Board of Stewards of The Jockey Club his services 
have been of unquestioned value, alike by reason of his 
intimate knowledi^e of horses and racin.t( methods and 
his abidintf concern for the healthful future of racing. 

One of the most constant attendants at the great race 
meetings in the vicinity of New York. Mr. Andrew 



in recent years have laid the foundation for a success Miller has a large personal popularity with all the various 

that is likely to surpass anything that has ever been seen elements that make up Ihe turf world. His position in 

in this country at any time in the past. He believes that this respect is the more notable and worthy of more than 

we may look more and more for favorable legislation ordinary attention from the fact that he is universally 

throughout the country that will advance the cause of rac- recognized as a representative of the small, but intlu- 

ing and stimulate breeding interests, and is conlident that ential body of sportsmen who follow the races from pure 

ultimately the central racing authority that has been love of the horse, and for the delight that the sport 

established under charter from the State of New York affords them. In these days, when the business side of 

will make its power felt in the West, even as it is now the turf has come into such remarkable prominence, and 

paramount in the Hast. Other reforms are warmly ad- has at times threatened even to entirely dominate all 

vocated by him as means toward the general promotion racing affairs, the existence of disinterested sportsmen 

of the general welfare of the turf. He believes that the like Mr. Miller, who are true to the best traditions of the 



raising of weights which will permit 
competent jockeys to remain longer in 
the saddle, will improve the quality of 
racing, and hopes ultimately to see all 
barriers done away with at the starting 
post, so that flying, not standing, starts 
will prevail. 

Mr. Francis R. Hitchcock, Steward ol 
the Jockey Club, belongs to one of the 
leading families of New York and is de- 
scended from Matthias Hitchcock, who 
came from London to the Massachu- 
setts Colony in 1635. The family is 
among the oldest in England, going 
back in its history to the time of William 
the Conqueror. In New England, de- 
scendants of the pioneer, Matthias Hitch- 
cock, have, for more than two cen- 
turies and a half, been numbered 
among the leading and most influential 
people in the public, professional and 
social life of that section of the coun- 
try. Mr. Thomas Hitchcock, the father of Mr. 
F. R. Hitchcock, has been well known in New York as 
a lawyer and, later in life, as a journalist and writer upon 
financial topics. Mr. F. R. Hitchcock, who is a native 



*^^ I 




ANDREW MILLER 
STEWARD, THE JOCKEY CLUB 



old-time turf, is a saving force for which 
all true turfmen should be duly grateful. 
Without this element, whose interest 
in racing is unalloyed by pecuniary in- 
terests of any description whatsoever, 
the turf at the present day would be in 
an unenviable condition, and its pros- 
\ perous and honorable future a matter of 
reasonable doubt. 

Such gentlemen as Mr. Miller, who 
hold assured positions in the social, 
literary and business world, are now 
rendering the turf an incalculable ser- 
vice. Their presence in the counsels of 
turf organizations, as well as their 
patronage of the sport at the track, 
gives dignity to racing and contributes 
to its elevation in the estimation of the 
general public, and does much toward 
offsetting the unwarranted prejudice 
that still exists, even though now in 
a modified degree, in some quarters, 
concerning racing affairs. 

Mr. Miller's career has been more than ordinarily suc- 
cessful in all respects. Although a native of Canada, 
having been born in Hamilton, Ont., in February, 1857, 



of New York City, has been thoroughly identified with he is as loyal an American and as thorough a believer in 

the best social life of the metropolis in this generation. American institutions as he could be had he been born 

He is a graduate from Columbia University. For many on this side of the line. His education was secured in 

years he has taken a very active and influential part in Harvard University, from which institution he was 

those sports that most attract the gentlemen of the graduated in the class of 1880. Early in life he mani- 

period. Particularly interested in horsemanship, he is fested a decided inclination for literary pursuits and 

known as one of the best gentlemen riders in and about naturally determined to devote himself to letters. With 

New York. His special distinction in this direction has this object in mind he engaged in newspaper pursuits 

been gained as Master of the Meadow Brook Hunt. His after completing his college education, and, coming to 

racing colors are all green, gold tassel. As a member of New York, was for a number of years editorially con- 

151 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

ncctcd with Ic.kiiiig Nuw York p;ipcrs. Aflcr :i time he complete list of them would be loii^ and interesting and 
established the weekly, known as Life, which under his would include many notable names. We should recall 
direction has been wholly successful, both in an artistic Huclid bv imported Glenelt,' out of The Nun; Buccaneer 
and pecuniary sense and which, at the present time, ranks by imported Buckden out of Jenny McKinney; Macbeth 
as one of the most inllueiitial periodicals devoted to by Macaroon out of Jersey Belle; Fon du Lac by Glen- 
social topics that is published in the Hnglish language. garry out of Hop; Trombone by Great Tom out of Duet; 

Ownership of horses has never engaged the attention Himalaya by Virgil out of Kentucky Belle; Hidalgo by 

of Mr. Miller, nor has he been otherwise identified with King Alfonso out ol Ultima, and ;i score or more of 

the business side of the turf. While an admirer of the others famed in racing annals. Mr. Galway has brought 

thoroughbred and an enthusiast over that animal's per- to his position as a steward of The Jockey Club a wide 

formances, his interest in the suliject from the purely and practical experience in everything that pertains to 

practical point of view has never led him to be anything breeding and racing, and from that point of view, 

more than an observer of breeding, owning, training particularly, has rendered important service to the club 

and racing. Nevertheless, he has had a long and honor- in carrying out its ideas and to racing interests generally, 

able connection with racing affairs and enjoys the per- The Racing Secretary of The Jockey Club, Mr. Walter 

sonal friendship and confidence of all the prominent men S. Vosburgh, has had a notable career as a r.icing official. 

engaged in the sport. His standing and infiuence is Having served a long apprenticeship in journalism, he 

more recognized and his inlluence is more powerful from became well and favorably known in the newspaper 

the very fact of the wholly disinterested attitude that he world. As a writer upon turf subjects, he has not only 

is able to maintain toward all racing affairs. been prolific, but his literary work has been of wholly 

For these reasons he is held in specially high esteem admirable character. Few Americans of this generation 

by his associates, and has been freciuently called upon to have made a closer study of the thoroughbred, and his 

occupy positions of responsibility and prominence in original investigations, particularly in the direction of 

connection with racing associations and in the manage- pedigrees, and touching the potency of different equine 

ment of tracks. For four years he served on the com- families, have been of the most painstaking and valuable 

mittee in charge of the Fleetwood Course and presided character. Some of the papers that he has written upon 

over that organization in 1895. He was one of the first this particular subject have a value not surpassed by 

members of The Jockey Club, joining that organization anything of like character that has ever been produced 

in the first year of its existence. During the last two in this conntry or in England. As a handicapper, Mr. 

years he has been one of its stewards. As a keen judge Vosburgh has long been credited with a skill second to 

of horses, Mr. Miller has few superiors, for he has made no man connected with the American turf. He has 

a close study of the thoroughbred from the time of his always been one of the hardest working officials con- 

lirst interest in the animal. He is a recognized authority nected with the metropolitan race courses. When the 

upon the history and ethics of the turf. Board of Control, that preceded The Jockey Club in the 

Mr. James Galway represents on the Board of Stewards direction of metropolitan racing affairs, was in existence, 

of The Jockey Club, in the fullest sense, the breeding and he was its secretary. At the same time he did handi- 

racing element that is at the foundation of all lurf pros- capping for the New York Jockey Club and the Mon- 

perity. He has long been well known upon all the mouth Park Association. In .ill matters relating to 

leading race courses of the country, while his stable has handicapping and to lurf law, he is an admitted 

been particularly conspicuous at the metropolitan meet- authority. 

ings. He has given a- litetime to the study of the No gentleman identified with racing in the North is 
thoroughbred, and to the advancement of racing inter- more truly representative of all th.it is best in the life 
ests, and his black, yellow sleeves, cherry cap, has often and history of the metropolis than Colonel Lawrence 
been first by the post in many important events. In Kip. 1 le is Ihe prominent representative in his genera- 
recent years he has been particularly identified with the tion of a family whose record dates back to the earliest 
turf as the Master of the I'reakness Stud. This institu- days of the settlement of New Amsterdam. Descended 
tion was first made famous by the late Mr. M. H. San- from a French knight of distinguished origin, his ances- 
ford. When that gentleman abandoned racing in 1881 tor, Heiidrick Heiidrickzen Kip, came to the New World 
he sold the establishment to Mr. Galway, who, in the before 1643, and was one of the foremost men in the 
years that have since gone by, has not only maintained New Amsterdam colony. The descendants of this 
it in the high reputation that it had in the years of its pioneer have in every generation since the arrival of 
earlier history, but has developed and improved it to a their progenitor been pre-eminently distinguished in the 
remarkable degree. Some of the great horses of the social, business and civic life of the metropolis. They 
present generation have carried Mr. Galway's colors. A have been connected in marriage with many of the great 

152 



TlIK AMERICAN TURF 



colonial (amilies of Now York, and amony thoin have notabk- features of those occasions, and his horses have 
been men of distinction in every walk of public lile. carried olf niaiiy of the choicest prizes. Rir more than 
Without the Kips many pages of New York's history two decades he has maintained a deep and active inter- 



ior two bundled and fifty years would be far less bril- 
liant and important than they now are. 

("olonel Kip has had a career eminently worthy of his 
ancestry. Son of the Right Reverend William ingraham 
Kip, D. 1)., Bishop of California, he was educated for 
•military life, being giaduated iVom West Point in 1SS7, 
receiving his commis- 
sion as Second Lieu- 
t e n a n t of Artillery. 
During the (^ivd War 
he served as a member 
of the staff of General 
Philip .Sheridan, and for 
gallantry at Five Forks 
in 186=; received the 
Brevet rank of Major 
and Lieutenant-Colonel. 
Resigning from the mil- 
itary service in 1S67, he 
has since devoted him- 
self to civic pursuits and 
to some extent has en- 
gaged in literary work, 
having published an ac- 
count of his military 
experiences under the 
title of Army Life on 
the i'acilic. He has 
been foremost in many 
of the great movements 
that have enlisted the 
attention of prominent 
New Yorkers for the 
advancement of the ma- 
terial, social and other 
interest of the munici- 
pality in the present 
generation, is particu- 
larly a leader in social 
circles and an inlluen- 
tial adviser in the direc- 
tion of the affairs of 
many of the institutions 
that are peculiar to New 
York City. Always interested in horses. Colonel Kip has those notable turfmen, 




LAWRENCE KIP 

PRESIDENT, CONEY ISLAND JOCKEY CLUB 



est in the running turf His (irst delinite association 
with racing alTairs was in connection with Jerome Park in 
the lifetime of that grand old sportsman, Mr. Leonard W. 
Jerome. The active part that he then look in the man- 
agement of racing served to increase his enthusiasm lor 
the thoroughbred, aiul to leail him into more imporlani 

lel.itioiis with the turf 
In 1884, he became a 
member of the (loiuy 
Island Jockey Club, and 
the high reputation that 
he already enjoyed as a 
turfman was fully recog- 
nized by his associates 
by his election, shortly 
afterward, as a member 
of the Board of Direc- 
tors. Within one short 
year thereafter his ser- 
vices were still further 
called for as a member 
of the Fxecutive Com- 
mittee, while two years 
later he was elected to 
be Vice-President of the 
ckib. This fitter posi- 
tion he continued In 
hnid until the death ol 
Ihe presiilent of the 
club, Mr. James Ci. K. 
Lawrence, in 1S9S. He 
was then elected Presi- 
dent, .and since that 
lime iias contiiuieii to 
be Ihe directing mind 
of the organization. 

Much of the success 
ol the Coney Islaiui 
Jockey Club in these 
filer years has been 
unquestionably due to 
("olonel Kip, who h.is 
proved himself to be 
a worthy successor of 
Lawrence and Mr. Leon- 



Mr. 



long been recognized as a high authority upon all m.itters 
pertaining to the running horse, the trotter and the road- 
ster. He has been prominent among the most active sup- 
porters of the National Horse Show Association of 
which, for several years, he has been Vice-President. 
His exhibits at the horse show, year after ye.ir, have been 



ard W. Jerome, who preceded him in its presidency. 
He has given unceasing attention to every phase 
of its affairs, and in this work has had the cordi.il 
co-operation of the other officers of the club, each of 
whom devotes m.iny hours ,1 day to the promotion of its 
interests. AH the oflicers of the club are intimate per- 



153 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



;ind was interested in mining enterprises and also in 
the Panama Railroad. 

Brought to New York by his parents when he was a 
mere child, Mr. Cornelius Fellowes has been completely 
identified with the metropolis throughout his entire life. 
His alliance with turf affairs began with the forma- 



sonal friends of long standing, a 'state of affairs that, if 

not altogether unique in the history of racing, is at least 

not frequently met with. To this important fact is also 

to some extent undoubtedly due the success that has 

come to the club and the course. The officers all work 

in the greatest harmony in their various positions, and 

are unselfishly devoted to the proper management of the tion of the Coney Island Jockey Club, of which he was 

turf. Among them Colonel Kip is naturally recognized one of the original members, and with which he has 

as leader, not only by virtue of his official position, maintained an active connection ever since. He was the 

but also by reason of his thorough mastery of all turf first Vice-President of the Club and held that position 

continuously until 1890, 
when he succeeded to 
the Secretaryship, fol- 



affairs and his ability 
in management and 
control, and in the 
solution of the many 
puzzling problems that 
daily arise in the admin- 
istration of such an im- 
portant institution. His 
success is especially 
seen in the high esteem 
in which the Coney Isl- 
and Jockey Club is held 
by the public, and in 
the cordial relations 
which all the great turf- 
men of the country are 
glad to maintain tow- 
ard it. 

Mr. Cornelius Fel- 
lowes is a tvpe of the 
gentlemen of Southern 
birth who, in these later 
years of the century, 
have become prime fac- 
tors in the social and 
business life of New 
York. He is a native 
of Kentucky, having 
been born in Louisville 
in 1840. He came of 
one of the old Southern 
families, his father 
beingWilliam Fellowes, 
who was a native of 
New Pitt, North Caro- 
lina, where he was boin in 1802. The parents ot 
William Fellowes were Jonathan and Elizabeth Fel- 
lowes, both of whom were members of old North 
Carolina families. William Fellowes made his reputa- 
tion as a merchant in the dry goods business in Louis- 
ville, Ky., having also a branch establishment in New 
Orleans. About 1846, he removed to New York City 
and engaged in business. Later in life he owned plan- 
tations and other property in various parts of the South 




lowing Mr. J. G. K. 
Lawrence, who had 
been elected President. 
That position he has 
held down to the pres- 
ent time. His general 
interest in the horse 
also led him to active 
work in the organiza- 
tion of the National 
Horse Show Associa- 
tion, of which he is Pres- 
ident. His connection 
with The Jockey Club 
and the Horse Show 
Association was due to 
his unswerving belief 
in the great future of 
the blood horse and of 
other equine families. 

Believing that for the 
purpose of advancing 
the interests of breeding 
and improving and de- 
veloping the character 
of the horse, organi- 
zations of the character 
of those just referred to, 
were capable of exercis- 
ing a powerful in- 
fluence, he has devoted 
much time and effort to 
them. He regards both organizations as among the 
most important factors that we have ever had in this 
country in bringing about the much desired results at 
which they aimed. Especially the National Horse Show 
Association has had an influence of the most notable 
character, as is seen, not alone in the attention 
that is given to its annual exhibitions, both by the 
public and by newspapers, but also in the decided 
change in the character of horseflesh and in equip- 



CORNELIUS FELLOWES 
SECRETARY, CONEY ISLAND JOCKEY CLUB 



154 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ments and traps. Within the last few years the 
advance in these directions in all parts of the country 
has been especially notable, so much so, that our fash- 
ionable thoroughfares, especially in New York, can now 
show turnouts that in respect to horses and equipments 
are c^uite comparable with any that can be seen else- 
where in the world. 

One of the notable army of Ameiican tuifmeii that 
pcrfoimed such a great work for the cause of racing in 
the United States in the years immediately following the 
close of the Civil War, was Colonel M. Lewis Clark, of 
Kentucky. For more than a third of a century he has 
been one of the most 
conspicuous figures in 
American turf history. 
His career is worthy of 
particular attention for 
the reason that he en- 
tered upon the work of 
developing the tuif at 
a time when and in a 
section of the country 
where the situation 
was very discouraging. 
While in the North rac- 
ing had already revived 
and had enteied upon 
a new life that was bril- 
liant and full of prom- 
ise, in the South, as we 
have had frec]uent occa- 
sions on other pages of 
this volume to point 
out, it still remained at a 
very low ebb. The three 
New York courses, Jer- 
ome Park. Saratoga 
and Monmouth, almost 
monopolized the racing 
of the country. With all 
dLie credit to the men of 
the North, who were 
the pioneers in this re- 
vival, it must be said 

that they worked under conditions that were fairly 
favorable to carrying out the enterprise which they 
undertook. The wealthy men of the North had 
plenty of money with which to purchase thor- 
oughbreds and to found such race courses as Jerome 
Park. Saratoga and Monmouth. They had. too. all the 
advantage that comes from co-operation of many men of 
similar minds and financial and social standing. It was 
the fashion to be interested in racing at that time in the 
North, and there was plenty of means to be secured for 




the support of the institution, alike from patriotic turf- 
men and the outside public desirous of witnessing good 
sport. 

In the South the situation was entirely reversed. There 
were only three important courses in that section, those 
at Lexington, Nashville and New Orleans. Such racing 
as was there conducted was very limited, while the 
added money to stakes and purses was small. The love 
of the thoroughbred had never died out in the South, yet 
it was now impossible for the people to give that atten- 
tion to lacing that had been characteristic of the section 
befoie the wai\ They had, for the moment, little means 

and little disposition to 
indulge in the sport, 
and the few devoted 
turfmen who took upon 
themselves the work of 
reviving turf interests 
labored under most un- 
promising conditions. 
They were obliged to 
stand almost alone and 
with comparatis'elv lit- 
tle of that social and 
financial encouragement 
that is essential to the 
prosperity of such an 
institution. It is. there- 
fore, greatly to the 
credit of such men as 
Colonel Clark, and a few 
others who were asso- 
ciated with him. that 
they were able and will- 
ing to undertake this 
herculean task at a time 
when the future looked 
so dark, and that they 
succeeded so admirably 
in their purposes and in 
ultimately bringing for- 
ward the turf at the 
South to a position of 
such standing as that 
which it now occupies. One of the most serious 
phases of the situation was the decreased demand 
for thoroughbreds and the consequent depression of 
the business upon which the breeders of Kentucky 
and Tennessee had for generations depended. Not 
only were sales comparatively few, but prices were 
correspondingly low. and some of the Southern breed- 
ers were even considering the advisability of going 
out of business entirely. The problem that con- 
fronted the breeding interests of the South was how to 



M. LEWIS CLARK 



■55 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



create a new demand for the blood horse. This was no 
slight undertaidng, and to bring about the desired change 
demanded a careful study of conditions of breeding and 
racing, not only in this country, but also abroad. Col- 
onel Clark undertook this particular work. In the North 
he thoroughly familiarized himself with the situation and 
with the outlook for the future and then went to Europe. 
Remaining abroad for several years he made a careful 
study of the turf systems of England and France and of 
the causes that had led to their greatness. He enjoyed 
the intimate acquaintance of the leaders of the turf in 
England and France, receiving from them much valuable 
information and being materially assisted in his investi- 
gations. For some time he was the guest of the great 
Admiral Rous. " the father of English racing," and from 
him learned many things that were of subsequent value 
in carrying out plans for the rejuvenation of the turf in 
this country- 
Returning home. Colonel Chwk proceeded to interest 
the breeders of Kentucky, and with their co-operation 
organized a jockey club in Louisville, and brought about 
the establishment of stakes modeled after the classic 
events of the English turf. The Kentucky Derby was 
the first fruit of his plans, and in addition he originated 
and established the Kentucky Oaks, the Kentucky St. 
Leger, the Louisville Cup and many other stakes which 
have since become historic. One of these in particular 
was the Great American Stallion Stakes, where breeders 
were compelled to nominate the sires before their colts 
and fillies were eligible for entry. The Futurity of the 
Coney Island Jockey Club is similar to this stake, the 
nomination of the dam being required instead of the 
sire. The first president of the Louisville Jockey Club. 
Colonel Clark, more than any other one man established 
that organization firmly in the hearts of Western turf- 
men, and he has ever since been unceasing in his labors 
in the interest of the Western race courses. 

For over twenty years Colonel Clark has acted as pre- 
siding judge in that part of the country. His first ap- 
pearance in the grand stand at Louisville was upon the 
occasion of the first Kentucky Derby, in 187s, and he 
has kept his place there ever since. He has also presided 
over the racing meetings at Memphis, Nashville, Oakley, 
Dallas and the City of Mexico, and has been the presid- 
ing judge at the meetings of the Chicago Harlem Course. 
He is the author of many of the turf rules of the present 
day and founder of the first American Turf Congress that 
was organized to control the racing of the West. He is 
also to be credited with several important innovations in 
turf practice, being the maker of the first uniform scale 
of weights and the author of many notable reforms that 
have tended to the purification of the turf. As a judge, 
he has always had the reputation of being fearless and 
honest and actuated by an abiding sense of responsibility 



to the public. Dishonest owners and turf speculators 
have never been able to cajole or deceive hirn, and his 
sound knowledge of the laws of the turf and his shrewd- 
ness in detecting trickery have been proverbial. Cour- 
ageous, unprejudiced and absolutely impartial, he has 
made an enduring name for himself. 

Probably no racing official now before the public is 
mure widely known in his special functions than Mr. 
Joseph John Burke. As steward or presiding judge he 
has officiated at every centre of horse racing in the 
United States and Canada. Born at Portsmouth. Va., 
in 1 8s 3, Judge Burke is now in the prime of life, after 
twenty-five years of practical experience among all 
classes of racing men. His turf education was begun in 
the office of The Spirit of the Times, in 1870. Then Mr. 
Charles J. Foster was the turf editor of that journal, 'and 
there, and afterward on The New York Sportsman, it was 
Mr. Burke's good fortune to be intimately associated 
with Mr. Foster for many years. Largely through his 
connection with these turf publications Judge Burke 
became closely connected wiih the racing world, and has 
met and known nearly every prominent breeder and turf- 
man who has bred and raised horses in this country. 

As a racing official. Judge Burke has had a long, active 
and honorable career. He has served as presiding judge 
at the following race courses: At Washington Park, Chi- 
cago, five consecutive seasons, beginning with iSqo; at 
St. Louis, four consecutive seasons; at Saratoga, three 
seasons; at Cincinnati, one season; at Buffalo (Fort 
Erie), one season: in California, two seasons; at Tor- 
onto, one season ; at Hamilton, one season ; at Niagara 
Falls, one season; at Washington. D. C, one season; at 
the North Hudson Driving Park, New Jersey, five sea- 
sons; at Providence, R. 1.. one season; at Boston, one 
season, and at Brighton Beach, five seasons. In i8qs. 
Messrs. August Belmont. J. H. Bradford and P. J. Dwyer 
named him to be steward at the meetings of the Coney 
Island Jockey Club, the Brooklyn Jockey Club, the 
Brighton Beach Course and the Aqueduct Course. 

In the discharge of his duties Judge Burke has been 
called upon to note and analyze the performances of 
most of the great horses of the present era. Jockeys of 
all degrees of merit have come before him for judicial 
examination, and owners of erratic performers have been 
called upon to explain the peculiarities of their horses. 
That he has been able to maintain his popularity with all 
classes of turfmen and at the same time give satisfaction 
to the public, is a complete demonstration of his remark- 
able fitness for the position that he has so long and so 
successfully held. As a judge of outward physical con- 
dition he probably has no superior; but it is only natural 
to expect this, perhaps, in a man who has had the 
superior advantage of looking on from a judicial throne 
at so many of the great equine struggles that have 



156 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ulorilied tlu- American turf in a quarter of a century- 
Mr. H. G. Ciickniore lias brout,Mit to his position as a 
lacing ofl'lcial tiie experience of a lifetime spent in tlie 
study of horses. Aithouijh he has never been enyajied 
in racing or breeding, there are few owners or breeders 
who have a more complete knowledge of the thorough- 
bred and his capabilities. For many years Mr. Crick- 
more was the turf editor of The New York World, and 
there gained a reputation as one of the best informed 
and most brilliant turf writers in the United States. He 
ilso started and for many years published Krik's Guide, 
which during its existence was the recognized authority 
relating to tuif records, and is now regarded as an inval- 
uable compendium of turf history for the period which 
it covered. In all matters pertaining to the turf history 
of the present qLiarter of a century Mr. Crickmore has 
long been considered a superior authority, and few men 
are more familiar with the eadier history of the turf in 
this country and England. He is now secretary of the 
Westchester Racing Association, and in that position 
tinds congenial occupation in arranging and watching 
over the race meetings at Morris Park, in addition, he 
is the racing secretary of the National Steeplechase and 
Hunt Association. He is regarded as one of the most 
capable and most useful racing officials known to the 
Metropolitan turf. 

Any consideration of the racing officials past and pres- 
ent, whose services have availed to advance and conserve 
the cause of racing, would be manifestly incomplete 
without some reference to the many gentlemen who 
have ably officiated at the important race meetings all 
over the countiv in the present time. A mere citation of 
the names of some of these leading officials in the year 
i8c)7, for example, will suffice to indicate the charac- 
ter of those in whose hands the welfare of the con- 
temporaneous turf has been placed. The officials at the 
great courses in the vicinity of New York have become 
familiar to all metropolitan racing patrons. The West- 
chester Racing Association, with headquarters at Morris 
Park, in the year referred to was presided over by Messrs. 
August Belmont, James Galway and Andrew Miller, as 
stewards of the meeting. The clerk of the course was 
Mr. H. G. Crickmore, and the judges, Messrs. C. 
McDowell and R. W. Simmons. At the meetings of 
the Brooklyn Jockey Club, the Coney Island Jockey Club 
and the Brighton Beach Association, Messrs. Simmons 
and McDowell also officiated as judges. 

The president of the Brooklyn Jockey Club was Mr. 
P. J. Dwyer, the secretary, Mr. H. D. Mclntyre, and the 
stewards, Messrs. P. J. Dwyer. Andiew Miller and F. R. 
Hitchcock. The affairs of the Coney Island Jockey Club 
were ably directed by its president. Colonel Lawrence 
Kip. and its secretary. Mr. (^orneliLis Fellowes. while the 
stewards of the meeting were Messrs. J. H. Bradford, F. 



R. Hitchcock and H. K. Knapp. The Brighton Beach 
Course was controlled by the Brighton Beach Racing Asso- 
ciation, of which Mr. William A. hngeman is president and 
Mr. (-harles V. Sass, secretary. The stewards of the meet- 
ing were Messrs. C. McDowell, W. A. Hngeman and 
Sheridan Clark, and the judges Messrs. R. W. Simmons 
and W. C. Cozier. Racing at the Aqueduct Course was 
controlled by the Queens County Jockey Club, with Mr. 
Thomas D. ReiUy. president, and Fred Rehberger, secre- 
tary. The stewards of the meeting were Clarence 
McDowell and Thomas D. Reilly, and the judge William 
C. Cozier. Mr. Edward Kearney, president, and Mr. B. 
A. Chilton, secretary, of the Saratoga Association, are 
well known to all members of the racing fraternity in 
every part of the United States. The stewards of the 
Saratoga Meeting were Messrs. W. S. Vosburgh and M. 
N. Nolan, and the judge Mr. W. 1.. Powers. Racing at 
the Bennings Course, Washington. D. C. which is con- 
ducted under the rules of The Jockey Club, has long been 
managed by the Washington Jockey Club, of which Mr. 
S. S. Howland is the president and Mr. H. G. Crickmore 
the clerk of course and scales. 

The year's racing begins in San Francisco, where, in 
January, the meeting of the Pacific Coast Jockey Club 
opens. The president of the Jockey Club in 1807 was 
Mr. F. N. Androus. and the secretary. .Mr. F. H. Green, 
the stewards of the meeting Messi's. J. H. Rees, J, W. 
Wilson and Henry J. Crocker, and the judges, Messrs. J. 
H. Rees and J. W. Wilson. The clerk of the scales was 
Mr. Harry Kuhl. Not second in importance to the meet- 
ing of the Pacific Coast Jockey Club is that of the Cali- 
fornia Jockey Club, which holds its meetings at Oakland. 
The president of the club was Mr. Thomas H. Williams, 
Jr.; its secretary, Mr. R. B. Milroy: the stewards, Messrs. 
Thomas H. Williams. Jr., 1). M. Burns, J. A. Murphy, J. 
W. Brooks and J. J. Burke, and the judges, Messrs. J. J. 
Burke and J. A. Murphy. 

Racing is conducted in New Orieans, that historic 
racing centre, by the Crescent City Jockey Club, of 
which the manager was Mr, C, S. Bush and the secre- 
tary, Mr. Sheridan Clark. At Memphis. Tenn.. another 
old-time racing resort, the New Memphis Jockey Club 
directs racing affairs with (lolonel M. Lewis Clark as 
judge. The president of the club was Mr. S. R. Mont- 
gomery and the secretary, Mr. M. N. MacFarlan. The 
principal officers of the Kentucky Association which 
manages racing at Lexington were Mr. Milton Young, 
president, and Mr. F. Bissicks, Jr,, secretary. The New 
Louisville Jockey Club, of Louisville, Ky., had for its 
president Mr. William F. Schulte, and for its secretary, 
Mr. C. F. Price. At Nashville, Tenn., we tind the Ten- 
nessee Breeders" Association, with Mr. V. I-. Kirkman, 
president, and Mr. J. W. Russworm, secretary. 

At St. Louis races are run under the management of 



157 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the St. Louis Fair Association, of whicli Mr. L. M. 
Ramsey was president, Mr. Joseph A. Murphy, secre- 
tary; the stewards of the meeting, Messrs. C. C. Maftitt, 
Koiia Wells, J. C. Ghio and Robert Aull; the judges. 
Messrs. Joseph A. Murphy and J. W. Price, and the clerk 
of scales. Mr. John Hackmeister. The officers of the La- 
lonia Jockey Club were Mr. J. C. Sherlock, president, and 
Mr. H. C. Hopper, secretary. The Cincinnati Jockey Club, 
whose meetings are held at Oakley Park, had for its presi- 
dent Mr. A. S. Labold; for its secretary, Mr. W. R. 
Letcher: for its stewards, Messrs. S. Simonton, G. R. 
Gritfiths and A. S. Labold. and for its judges, Messrs. 
James H. Rees. Charles F. Price and Charles F. McLean. 
The Queen City Jockey Club of Cincinnati, which holds 
its meetings at Newport, Ky., had Mr, R. W. Nelson 
for president and Mr. J. G. Hanley for secretary. Mr. 
J. J. Burke officiated as judge. 

in many smaller places, in addition to those already 
enumerated, racing is conducted, and although of less 
conseciuence than that on the larger courses, nevertheless 
forms a component part of the yearly records of the turf. 
Racing ofllcials in those localities have important, even 
though less honorous. duties than in the greater racing 
centres. The president of the Little Rock Jockey Club 
in i8c)7 was Mr. J. M. Gracie, and its secretary. Mr. J. 
M. Frank. Racing at Ingall's Park. Illinois, is controlled 
by the Ingall's Park Jockey Club, of which the secretary 
was Mr. M. Nathanson. and the same gentleman held the 
same relations to the courses at Sheffield and Lakeside, 
Ind. The Highland Park Club, of Detroit, Mich,, had its 
affairs directed by Mr. M. B. Mills, president, and Mr, W. 
O. Parmer, secretary. The officers of the Deti'oit Jockev 
Club were Mr. D. J. Campau, president, and Mr, P, M. 
Campbell, secretary. The president of the Kansas City 
Fair and Racing Association, in Kansas City, Mo,, was Mr. 
B. H. Smith, and the racing secretary, Mr. Dave McDaniel. 
In Montana the principal racing meetings of the year are 
held at BLitle and Anaconda. At the foi'mer place the 
West Side Racing Association and at the latter the Ana- 
conda Racing Association looks after the affairs, Mr. Ed 
A. Tipton being the secretary foi' both associations. 
From time to time changes in these boards of officers 
occur, hut most of those whose names have here been 
recorded as in active official life in 1807 had held their 
places for many ye;u's before, and are likely for many 
years to come to give to the turf the very great advantage 
of their experience and influence. 

Turf affairs in the West and South have been for sev- 
eral years past principally directed by the American Turf 
(Congress. This organization is composed of the Ken- 
tucky Association, of Lexington, Ky. ; the New Louis- 
ville Jockey Club, of Louisville, Ky. ; the Latonia 



Jockey Club, of Covington, Ky. ; the St. Louis 
Jockey Club, of St. Louis. Mo. : the Tennessee 
Breeders' Association, of Nashville, Tenn, ; the Little 
Rock Jockey Club, of Little Rock, Ark. ; the New 
Memphis Jockey Club, of Memphis, Tenn. ; the Cin- 
cinnati Live Stock and Driving Park Company, of 
Cincinnati; the New Louisiana Jockey Club, of New 
Orleans, La. ; the Pacific Coast Jockey Club, of San 
Francisco, Cal. ; the Queen City Jockey Club, of New- 
port, Ky. ; the Washington Park Club, the Chicago Rac- 
ing Association, and the Harlem Jockey Club, of Chicago, 
111., and the Detroit Jockey Club and FJighland Park Club, 
of Detroit, Mich. The officers of this Congress, elected 
in i8c)7 for the ensuing year, were Messrs. C. C. MafFitt, 
president; Mr. W. F. Schulte, vice-president; Mr, 0, L. 
Bradley, treasurer; Mr, F. C. Hopper, secretary; Messrs. 
E. F. Clay, Rolla Wells and George G. Perkins, com- 
mittee on appeals, and Messrs. Joseph A. Murphy, James 
H. Rees and E. C. Hopper, committee on licenses. The 
purposes of this association are similar to those of The 
Jockey Club of New York, and its direction of racing 
affairs is to insure clean and upright sport. The Con- 
gress co-opeiates in many respects with The Jockey Club, 
and the combined influence of the two organizations 
has tended toward improvement in racing affairs in the 
West, as well as in the East. 

Many other names might be added to these and the 
list still be incomplete of efficient and reliable racing 
officials. Too much commendation could in no way be 
bestowed upon the gentlemen who in their responsible 
positions have labored energetically, early and late, and 
have done so niLich to keep the tuif true to its best tradi- 
tions. It is a burdensome task that the piesident and 
other officei's of jockey clubs and associations freely 
assume, and too often a thankless one. Even more, 
the stewards of the meetings, the judges, clerks and 
starters take upon their shoulders the most exacting 
duties. The demands of their positions call for sound 
and far-reaching knowledge in regard to racing methods 
and the history of thoroughbreds of the past, as well as 
of the present, and an alertness in detecting and circum- 
venting the wiles of some dishonest owners and jockeys. 
Honesty, diplomacy, tact and firmness are imperative 
rec]uisites in them. That they are so generally success- 
ful in the discharge of their difficult duties is the highest 
testimony to their standing, not only in the racing world, 
but with the general public as well. It may be truly said 
that upon them, in a very large measure, rests the entire 
success of the turf, for they, and they only, can keep it 
pure and upright so that it shall win the approval of 
the race-going public and tile support of the racing fra- 
ternity. 



158 



BREEDERS 

AND 

BREEDING ESTABLISHMENTS 



BRHHDHRS AND BRHEDING ESTABUSHMHNTS 



Gri;at Stl'd Farms ok Kentucky, Tennessee and New Jeksev— Cami-dknias Contributions 

TO THE Turf— The Bitter Root. Nursery and Other Stock Farms— Modern 

Methods ok Selling Thoroughbreds 



horse. 



' O pursuit thjt has eng;iged the attention ol busi- 
ness men in the United States has had a longer 
or more honorable record than that which 
pertains to the breeding of the thoroughbred 
ts beginning was almost coincident with the 
foundation of the colonies, and from that time on it has 
kept steady pace with the material growth of the coun- 
try. Millions of dollars have been invested in it. and it 
has constantly given emplovment to small armies of 
men. Aside from its own importance, both by reason 
of the large capital invested and its general profitable- 
ness, it has contributed directly and indirectly to the 
general prosperity of the country and to the encourage- 
ment and development of many branches of industry, 
some of which seem to be only distantly related to it. 

There is one striking characteristic about this business 
that cannot be overlooked. In most enterprises men are 
engaged solely with a view to the profits to be derived 
therefrom. Their business is regarded only as a more or 
less convenient method of making a living, or, it may 
be, of accumulating the fortune which all men aie 
believed to be aiming at. With the breeding of the 
thoroughbred an entirely different condition of affairs 
prevails. Breeders are not ciuite so oblivioLLs to material 
interests as to engage in the occupation in utter disregard 
of the financial success that may accrue to them. At the 
same time, however, they are, almost without exception, 
thoroughly imbued with an abiding affection for the 
noble animal whom they are engaged in propagating, 
and in this respect they seem to be exceptional in the 
business world. Their love for the thoroughbred and 
the interest that they feel in the many absorbing and 
often perplexing problems of breeding amounts almost 
to a passion. The greatest breeders have undoubtedly 
been eminently successful from the financial point of 
view. Nevertheless their greatest satisfaction has surely 
been derived from the spectacle of the gradual develop- 
ment of the great equine race to which they have devoted 
thems^'lves and of the marvelous performances to which, 
by the careful and thorough study that they have given 
to the subject, they have contributed in no small degree. 
It can be no unworthy object that has thus commanded 
the attention of some of the greatest Americans of the 
last two centuries. Men have turned themselves from 
the exactions of public and professional pursuits and 



from the allurements of social life to study theories 
ol breeding and to devote themselves to the work of 
improving the character of the American blood horse. 
From the time of Washington and Jefferson down to the 
closing years of the nineteenth century, many of the 
most distinguished and most influential gentlemen of 
this country have found in breeding the thoroughbred 
not only a profitable business, but. even more, an absorb- 
ing pleasure. 

The roll of men who have been famous as proprietors 
of breeding establishments is a long and brilliant one. 
and includes the names of many who have been fore- 
most in their respective generations. At the present time 
we have only to recall the names of such as the Messrs. 
Augu.st Belmont — father and son— Pierre Lorillard, D. 1). 
Withers, George L. Lorillard, James R. Keene, J. B. 
Haggin, Leland Stanford, George W. Hearst, and scores 
of others not less worthy of enumeration, to gain at least 
a slight idea of the general character of those who have 
devoted themselves to this important pursuit. And it is 
instructive to considei' that, however eminent these gen- 
tlemen may be in many walks of life, and however truly 
representative Americans, they have, as respects the 
mattei' to which we are here calling attention, simply 
followed in the footsteps of others in previous genera- 
tions who have been not less worthy of consideration as 
typical enterprising American citizens of the highest 
social and business standing and enthusiastically devoted 
to the caLise of the blood horse. 

From racing to breeding is a natural step. In many 
instances horsemen have combined both pursuits, espe- 
cially in the olden time when turfmen, as a matter of 
pride, if nothing else, made it a point, for the most part, 
to breed the horses that they raised. It Is significant in 
the present time of a certain change in the character of 
the turf that there is no such close alliance between 
breeding and racing. While it is still true that in many 
conspicuous instances the owners of stables are also pro- 
prietors of breeding establishments, there has been some- 
thing of a tendency toward separating the two and mak- 
ing an independent business of breeding. To such an 
extent has this practice obtained that many well-known 
turfmen have almost entirely given over their racing in- 
terests in order to attend to the business of breeding. 

For example. Messrs. (-lay & Woodford retired from 



i6i 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the race course and established the Runnymede Stud. 
Major B. G. Thomas, whose stable was once a conspiCLi- 
ous feature of all important I'ace meetings, withdrew his 
colors and pinned his future as a turfman upon the suc- 
cess of King Ban in the Dixiana Stud. General W. G. 
Harding retiied fiom tlie tLiif in 187s, and ever after was 
identitied with the famous Belle Meade Stud. Mr. M. 
H. Sanford. after his unsuccessful campaign in Europe, 
gave up nearly all his I'acing interests, and a short time 
before his death established the stud farm at North Fdk- 
horn. Ky. After the death of Mr. Sanford, Mr. Daniel 
Swigert also retired from the turf and puichased the 
North Elkhorn Stud Farm, at the same time owning the 
Elmendorf Stud. At one time in his career Mr. James 
R. Keene abandoned racing, and only maintained his 
connection with the turf through his stud farm, Mr. 
Charles Reed, after years of e.xperience on the race 
course, settled to the more profitable pursuit of breeding 
at his Fairview Stud. Among others who may thus be 
numbered have been Mr. Milton Young, who suc- 
ceeded Ml'. H. P. McGrath as the proprietor of the 



aimed at. Devoting their entire energies to thus develop- 
ing the thoioughbreds that they handled, they not only 
attained the specific object which they had in view, 
but also brought about, as an inevitable result of their 
work, a decided elevation in the character of all the 
families of horses in the sections whei'e they were located 
and wliere breeding for racing has been the business of 
impoi'tance for a century or more, it has been remarked 
by one good authority that, '■ the English horse is a very 
different animal from that of days previous to the era of 
racing; now it is likely that the horses of England are 
the best in the world." 

In some countries racing has not yet attained to the 
position of being a national institution. There it has 
been found, as a general thing, difficult to secure 
really tirst-class horses for driving, riding or more utili- 
tarian purposes. This deficiency is especially felt by the 
governments when they ai'e called upon to mount the 
cavalry, and in order to supply this branch of the military 
service, they are frec]uently obliged to maintain special 
breeding stables. In the United States horses of a high 



McGrathiana Stud, Mr. F. B. Hai'per, Mr. James Frank- character for gentlemen riders, or for mounted troops, 
lin, and many others whose names will doubtless readily have not been numerous or easy to secure. For the 
occur to every reader. United States cavalry horses have been bought, whenever 
Breeding is the very practical side of the turf. Quite practicable, in the blue grass section of Kentucky. When 
as much as the racing meeting, it is the foundation of all it was desired to ec]uip several volunteer cavalry regi- 
tuif prosperity. Indeed, the theory that the race course ments for service in the invasion of Cuba, there was no 
has existed, to a very considerable extent, only as an thought of looking elsewhere than to Kentucky for the 
encouragement to breeding, has always been persistently necessary horses. With horses, quite as much as with 
held, and may indeed be accepted as reasonably correct, men. it is fully recognized that blood will tell, and Ken- 
It has continually been the defense of the race course tucky has been so thoroughly given over to the breeding 
that it was an imperative necessity in order to secure of the thoroughbred that few horses exist there that have 



good horses for practical use in the every-day employ- 
ments of life. Whenever a law has been made by legis- 
latures, authorizing racing, the declaration is made in the 
preamble, that it exists for the ultimate purpose of en- 
couraging the breeding of horses and their improvement. 
So universal has this been that many who have not 
looked carefully into the subject have been inclined to 
smile at this as a specious plea, believing that the con- 
sideration for the improvement of the horse, thus con- 
spicuously put forth, is merely an empty pretense and 
designed to gloss over less commendable purposes. 



not some good strains. The emulations of the turf in 
that section, even more than elsewhere, have stimulated 
a desire on the pait of even tlie humblest farmers to have 
a good racer and a winner in his stable. The whole 
tendency of breeding, whether directly for purposes of 
the turf or with other ends in view, is toward insuring 
good blood. 

Experience in our Civil War was conclusive evidence 
of this superioiity of thoroughbred stock over the more 
plebeian families. It was again and again brought forci- 
bly to the attention of those who had to do with the 



This is not the truth, however, for the breeding of matter that when two troops of cavalry were sent on a 



thoroughbreds for the race course has unquestionably 
resulted in the improvement of all horses of other chu:ses 
as well as of their own, and this could never have been 
brought about had it not been for the incentive presented 
by the race tracks with their large purses, their oppor- 
tunities for enjoyable sport and the importance of racing 
as a supreme test of merit in equine blood. A half cen- 
tury ago, as we have repeatedly seen, all the great races 
were at four-mile heats, and ability to stay, with plenty 
of speed in reserve, was what the breeders and trainers 



hard campaign together, one mounted on Kentucky 
horses and the other on horses from Northern States, the 
former invariably wore the others out. The blood horse 
showed his prowess and was eqLial to almost any exac- 
tions, while the others broke down if undue strain was 
placed upon them. The superiority of the Confederate 
cavalry over the mounted troops of the North in the early 
years of the war has not yet been forgotten by this gen- 
eration. The Confedeiates were mounted upon horses 
from Virginia. South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, 



162 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



and probably there was scarcely a single one of their 
animals who had not, more or less thoruu,<;hbred blood 
in his veins, while many of them were pure thorough- 
breds of the thst quality, who had been intended for the 
race course, had not the unexpected demands of war 
impressed them to severer uses. Forrest, Morgan and 
other noted Confederate cavalrymen were for a longtime 
invincible, and their achievements were regarded as only 
a little less than miraculous. But, after all, their success 
was almost entirely due to the high grade of horses that 
they rode. 



ert the Devil, Tristan. Doncaster. Bend Or, Blair Athol, 
Rataplan, Cremorne, Kisber, King Tom, Foxhall and 
Rayon d'Or, and scores of others not less famous. Df 
Glencoe's career in this country scarcely a word need be 
said. More than any other single horse who has ever 
been identilied with the American stud he is the founda- 
tion of the great thoroughbreds of this country. Few 
American horses that have attained to eminence on the 
track have failed to trace directly to him. It has been 
well remarked that " the double cross of Glencoe has 
long been acknowledged as the keystone to success in 



It seems almost superfluous in view of these and many breeding, and the triple cross, as in the cases of Foxhall, 

other similar facts to point out the very great value of Sly Dance and Glenmore, is fast becoming regarded as 

the thoroughbred animal and the importance of encour- the acme of blood. " 

aging racing as a most important factor in his develop- Then there was Routh's Crab, by Crab out of a dam 

ment. Racing was universal in the South in antebellum by Councillor, one of the oldest and finest of the old 

days, and as an inevitable result came about the perfec- English thoroughbreds, who left a strain that has told 

tion of the horse of that section. Racing was compara- through many generations. Nor must we overlook 



tively little practiced in the North, save in New Yoik. on 
which account breeding was almost unknown. When, 
therefore, attention is called to the striking difference 
between the mounts of the cavalrymen of the two sec- 
tions at this important period of the countiy's history, 
further argument would seem to be unnecessary and fur- 
ther proof not called for to show the superior merit of the 
thoroughbred and tlie necessity of racing, since it is only 
through that medium that, as experience has shown, his 
improvement and development can be assured. 

That is one of the most interesting chapteis in the his- 
tory of American breeding which specially describes the 
success in this country of English stallions who have 
been allowed to leave their native land before they had 
been fully tried there. Dismissed without regret and 
sometimes with positive satisfaction, as, comparatively 
speaking, useless lumber, it was not long after their 
departure before, in view of their great success here, they 
were longed for with unavailing regret. Priam, although 
a winner of the Derby, was disregarded in the stud, but 
after he came to this country. Industry, Miss Letty and 
Crucifix, whom he left behind him. reversed the reputa- 
tion that he had possessed, while in this coLintry he was 
strikingly successful in establishing a notable Ameilcan 
family. Even more remarkable than Piiam in this le- 
spect was Glencoe. As a race horse he stood in the first 



Diomed, by Florizel, one of the very best horses ever 
imported, who has told the longest tale on American 
stock, having been the sire in this country of Sir Archy, 
Duroc, Florizel. Dinwiddle, Gracchus and many other 
first-rate runners and themselves sires of runners. Fear- 
nought by Regulus out of Silver Tail, the most distin- 
guished horse of all the other early importations, and one 
who left the most decided maik on the American race 
horse in its earlier history, must also be added to 
list. Then theie was Wildaii'. who was foaled in 17^1 by 
Cade, and who pioved sLich a successful stallion and sire 
of racers that he was repurchased for a large sum and 
sent back to England. Medley must also be included, 
by Gimcrack out of Arminda. He was a most success- 
ful stallion, and his blood is considered scarcely inferior 
to that of Diomed, Shark or Bedford. Messenger, by 
Mambrino out of a dam by Turf, was little regarded at 
home, but became in this country one of the most suc- 
cessful stallions. 

Of modern instances, perhaps the name of Leamington 
will tirst occur. Condemned at home and sold to this 
country, he here closely rivaled the immoilal Lexington, 
and English writers have since acknowledged that allow- 
ing him to leave that country was little less than a crim- 
inal mistake. Scores of other instances might be cited 
in still fLirthei' ilkistration of this point as showing how 



class, being second only to Plenipotentiary, and was of America has gained from the potency of blood that was 



the best English blood. As a stallion he suffered much 
from comparison with Sultan, his sire. Emilius. Lottery, 
Velocipede. Mameluke, Plenipotentiary and Touchstone, 
but in his latter-day fame he has eclipsed them all. 
A score of Derby winners trace direct to Glencoe, and 



overlooked by our English cousins. Nor has this coun- 
try alone thus profited. Buccaneer, a good race horse of 
Great Britain, was not held in high favor because his get 
were not considered to be stayers. He was sold to 
Austria, but had scarcely left his native land when Paul 
it has been said that in the last twenty-five years, or Jones, Formosa and Brigantine appeared to completely 
more, at least two-thirds of the best horses of Great upset the previous adverse opinion regarding his merit 
Britain have had strains of his blood, among his descend- and to make the English wish that they had him back 
ants having been Pocahontas, Stockwell, Isonomv, Rob- again. Then there was Gladiator, who passed ovei' to 

163 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



France, disregarded and discarded. Across the Channel of the English thoroughbred over the native stallion, 
he founded a family that had no superior in his time, and arguing that climatic differences have probably brought it 
sent back to the country that had failed to appreciate him about, and that even the inferior English stallion is ahead 
Gladiateur, Mortemer and Chamant. who carried away of the native animal, as a sire. Others have claimed that 
the Derby and other great prizes. the American mares have furnished just the desirable 
In recent years the passion for imported stallions on nick that was necessary to bring oLit the potency of the 
the part of American breeders has intensified to a degree foreigner. One interesting thing has been pointed out, 
that has before never been surpassed. Every master of and that is that the imported stallions began to arrive 
a breeding establishment has been on the constant out- here about the time that our system of racing changed, 
look for some well-bred English or Australian stallion who and a writer in The Spirit of the Times has argued with 
should give promise of great things when grafted upon a great show of reasonableness to demonstrate that the 
American stock. The success of these imported stallions English horses had the advantage from the fact that they 
has, on the whole, been remarkable, and would seem to had been bred from strains which for a generation or 
fully justify the enthusiasm of breeders for strains of for- more had been tiained to short distance racing, while our 
eign blood. This is the more surprising when we native sires had been bred principally under the long dis- 
consider that, as has just been pointed OLit, most of these tance test. There would seem to be considerable con- 
importations have been horses who were not held in tirmation of this theory in the fact that the fast young- 
high repute at home, and who really, as a matter of fact, sters of the present period, who have been trained for 



were never pre-eminently distinguished until they came 
across the Atlantic. Leamington. Eclipse, and Rayon 
d'Or, for example, were good performers, but scarcely to 
be considered as first-class, and. yet. how successful 
they have been in the stud in America every one 
knows. 

Mortemer was a great race horse unciuestionably, and 
so was Glenelg, but the latter was foaled in this country, 
having been imported in embryo. Ph:eton never did 
anything on the course in England, but in this country 



the short dashes that are now the vogue on the American 
turf, are in turn succeeding in the stud, cjuite as well as 
any of their English rivals. Still, the time has not yet 
come when the belief in the value of the imported stal- 
lion, rather than those of native produce, has been 
entirely eradicated, and it is probable that for a long time 
in the future we shall continue to add new strains of 
foreign blood to our Ameiican thoroughbred families. 

No more interesting problem has engaged the attention 
of turfmen, both in England and America for genera- 



be forever remembered as the sire of Ten Broeck. tions past, than that which relates to the relative speed 

and stoutness of the thoroughbred and the Oriental horse. 
The question seems to have been finally very well set- 
tled, with undoubted evidence in favor of the great 
superiority of the English thoroughbred and his descend- 
ants of the American tuif. It may be safely conceded 
that two hundred years or more ago the Arabians were 
undoubtedly the fastest runners in the world. Now. 
however, at the end of the nineteenth century the mod- 
ern thoroughbred is as fai' superior to the present horse 
of the East in his L]ualities and powers as he is in size, 
bone, strength and ability to carry weight. While the 
Arabians remain practically in the same condition that 
they were centuries ago, there has been a vast improve- 
ment in the character of their English progeny. The 
best old English blood, which had in it a part of the 
Spanish stock, when mi.xed with the true Arabian or 
Barb race in the beginning of breeding the thoroughbi'ed 
in England, brought about infinitely better results than it 
had ever been possible to secure from the unmixed and 
unstudied breeding of the Arabians in their native land. 
The intelligent breeding that has been followed since that 
time and the selection of the choicest animals to breed 
fiom, a measure that has been made possible, largely by 
the tests of the race course, have biought about this 
result. Upon practical test it has been found that with 



King Alfonso. Lisbon, St. Martin and others. Billet was 
only an ordinary performer, but he added to the worth 
of the American turf by getting such swift progeny as 
Volturno, Runnymede, Miss Woodford, Raceland. Sir 
Dixon and others. King Ban, as a racer, was of no ac- 
count, but his get, as King Fox, Ban Fox, Rosaline, 
Punster and others, had superior claims to recognition. 
King Ernest, who never ran a race, got for us such good 
ones as Mikado, Report, Kinglike and others. From 
Great Tom we have had Tyrant and General Harding, 
and from Glen Athol, who was utterly despised at home, 
came Glenmore, Greenfield and (Checkmate to add to the 
glories of the American turf. Then there was Buckden. 
who gave us Bend Or, Buchanan and Matinee; The 
ill-Used, who gave us Magnetizer, Jack of Hearts and 
Lady Primrose: Australian, from whom we have had 
Spendthrift, Springbok, Helmbold, Rutherford, Fellow- 
craft and many others not less notewoithv: Glenelg, 
who sired Monitor, Louisette, Firenze, Dry Monopole, 
Ferida and others,' and Mortemer, from whom came 
Wanda, Cyclops, Chimera and Exile. 

The explanation of this phenomenal success of im- 
ported stallions who at home had not ranked especially 
high, have been many and varied. Some theorists have 
held that the result demonstrates the decided superiority 



164 



THE AMERICAM TURF 

an allowance of as high as forty-eight pounds the Arabian oughbreds as Flying Childers, Herod. Eclipse, Diomed, 

has never been able to win an English race. Glencoe, Sir Archy. Boston. Lexington and hundreds of 

Some fifty years ago the subject was regarded as a other heroes of the English and American turf in days gone 

matter of such supreme importance that discussion was by. not to mention scores and hundreds of contemporane- 

rife, both among English horsemen and those of the ous equine champions. The few Arabians that have been 

East, each of whom patriotically supported the claims of seen in England and this country have never been able 

the respective breeds of their countries. The Viceroy of to cut any figure upon the course, and when it came to 

Egypt even went so far as to challenge the English the consideration of such great races as the Grand Prix, 

Jockey Club to run a certain number of English horses the Derby and the chief events of the course in this 

against the pick of his stables. The match was declined, country they have never been regarded as even in the 

first because the English Jockey Club in its corporate class to warrant their participation in such affairs, 

capacity never owned any racers, and secondly because. An interesting experiment that was carried out by the 

to run a distance race over broken desert ground was distinguished American breeder. Mr. A. Keene Richards, 

considered a greater risk of destroying valuable animals seemed to conclusively and finally settle this question 

than the circumstances would justify. Subsequently, in favor of the claim of the thoroughbred. Few 

however, as a result of this challenge, a race was run at turfmen in the United States had a larger acquaint- 

Cairo between the English mare Fair Nell and an Arab ance. or a wider experience, or gave themselves 

horse belonging to Aaleen Pacha, and the result has been up more unreservedly to the promotion of the interest 

regarded as of the greatest value as a clear demonstration of the thoroughbred than did Mr. Richards. From 

of the relative piowess of the two equine families. The the time of his boyhood he was interested in horses, 

length of the race was eight miles, over a rough, gravelly, and studied the thoroughbred with enthusiasm and with 

sandy road, and the English mare won, covering the rare good judgment. He was a native of Kentucky, 

course in i8>^ minutes, beating the Arabian by a full having been born in Scott County in 1827. His death 

mile and pulling up fresh. Aaleen Pacha, who owned occLii'red upon his celebrated farm. Bkie Grass Park, 

the Arabian horse, was a son of Abbas Pacha, the Vice- Georgetown, Ky.. in March. 1881. After completing 

roy. who. three years before, had challenged the English his education in Bethany College, West Virginia, he 

Jockey Club. spent several years in travel in England, Europe, Africa 

Fair Nell was supposed to be a thoroughbred, her sire and Asia. His interest in horses had by this time be- 

being the celebrated Irish horse Friney. but she was not come fully matured, and the greater part of the years 

in the Stud Book. She was a beautiful light bay. of that he spent abroad was given to thorough investiga- 

powerful build, and was used as a hunter, being a hai'd- tion of the thoroughbred in his original habitat. After 

worker and having a wonderfLil pace. She was called a visiting all the prominent studs, breeding and training 

"raking Irish devil, "and frequently traveled thirty- establishments in England and France, he proceeded to 

two miles in the course of a day at an easy canter, carry out a project that he had long before matured to 

carrying twelve stone without showing the least fatigue, make a tour of the Barbarv States and the West of Africa 

She was in low condition when she was shipped to and study the thoroughbred in the countries where his 

Egypt, yet ran and won her race within two months progenitors were considered to have originated. Travel- 

from the time of landing. On her trial before the race ing through Spain, where he made himself familiar with 

she did five miles in \o}i minutes. Although the result the Andalusion breed of horses and the royal stud of 

with a single thoroughbred might not be considered as Madrid, he then made an extended journey through 

absolutely conclusive, yet when we consider that Fair Algeria and Morocco, a greater part of the tour being 

Nell was not incontestably proven to be a pure thorough- accomplished on horseback. 

bred, and that her rate of speed, both in her recoided Next he went to Egypt and Arabia Petrea. His party 
five-mile trial and her eight-mile race, was less than that made the entire journey through Arabia on dromedaries, 
which has been displayed by many English and American and there he commenced that thorough investigation into 
thoroughbreds, the conclusion that the latter must be the Arabian horse that made him particularly conspicuous 
superior to their Arabian rivals may be considered as in his generation. Notwithstanding that the native tribes 
fairly settled. At any rate, the Egyptians were then of Arabia were then at war and travel throughout that 
convinced that their Arabians could be beaten by English country was dangerous in the extreme, he pushed his 
horses, and few turfmen now question that the modern investigations far into the Anazeh country, whence gen- 
thoroughbred possesses speed and endurance which are erations before had come the great Darley Arabian and 
his peculiar inheritance beyond any other horse in the other parents of the English thoroughbred family, 
world. It is beyond all doubt that no Arabian horse ever Abundant opportunities were given him to study the 
lived who could in any respect challenge such great thor- Arabian horse in his native state, and he bought several 

165 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



aniniMls that were the choicest cif their kind that could 
be procured. These he shipped to England and thence 
to America, and then returned home himself ready to 
cari'v out the experiment that he had planned and in 
which he had the fullest confidence of ultimate success. 
Completely informed now regarding the horse of the 
Orient and his English thoroughbred descendant, 
their origin and history, he was confident that the best 
horse in the state of nature was the Arab. His new 
possessions, the pure Arabian stallions. Massoud and 
Mokhladi, and the mare, Sadah, arrived at his Blue Grass 
Park home in i8si. He also made handsome additions 
to his stud of Amei'ican bred horses, and the following 
year in a second trip to Arabia he purchased the mare 
Nulie and the stallions Sackiowie and Fysaul. He also 
brought from England about the same time Knight of 
St. George, the St. Leger winner of 18^4; Australian and 
his dam Emilia, with her foal, Frazzoletto, Jr. ; and the 
brood mares Spiletta (dam of Spinola. Fenian and 
Rosetta). Melrose (dam of John Porter and Melbourne, 
Jr.) and Target (dam of Creedmoor). 

Although Mr. Richards' e.xperiment with the Arabians 
attracted a great deal of attention at the time, it was not 
geneially looked upon as giving much promise for the im- 
provement of the American thoroughbred. Mr. Richards 
was not convinced of this, but, after a few years, when 
it was found that his imported Arabians made no very 
distinct impress upon American stock, he was gradually 
forced to the conclusion that, after all, nothing in the 
world could surpass the best bred English and American 
horse. He spent a great deal of time and money in put- 
ting his theories to test, and some of the finest blooded 
mares in the country were bred to his Arabians. The 
outcome was a practical failure, and since his time there 
has been very little talk about the value of Arabian stock 
for the improvement of the thoroughbred, and breeders 
have ceased to give it any further attention. 

There has long existed among turfmen a positive and 
well-defined opinion that Kentucky is, pai' excellence, 
the natural home of the American thoroughbred. This 
is not the place to enter upon a discussion of the relative 
merits of that State as compared with other sections of 
the country, for breeding purposes. The question is an 
intricate one and is not to be solved offhand. A re- 
view even of the arguments that are advanced on either 
side would require more space than can here be given 
and probably come to no good results. Briefly, the con- 
tention for Kentucky is that its far-famed blue grass 
pastures and limestone soil offer advantages such as can 
be obtained nowhere else in the country, and it is partic- 
ularly urged that the presence of limestone in the 
soil contributes to making the horses that are raised there 
strong in bone and capable of great endLirance. On the 
other hand, however, it may not be forgotten that the 



great race horses of England have been developed with- 
out the peculiar advantages claimed for Kentucky, while 
at the same time some of the greatest thoroughbreds 
known to the Ameiican turf at all periods of its history 
have been bred in widely separated parts of the country 
and under conditions manifestly diverse. 

Experience would seem to indicate that, notwithstand- 
ing the undoubted advantages possessed by Kentucky, 
it is still possible to raise thoroughbreds elsewhere that 
shall be undoubtedly of the most approved character. 
Merely as a suggestion, it might perhaps be well worth 
considering that the apparently great numbers of success- 
ful KentLicky thoroughbreds, as compai'ed with the lesser 
number who have been bred elsewhere, may be in some 
measure, at least, due to the fact that they are the sur- 
vivals of an army of foals infinitely greater than is seen 
in all the rest of the country put together, it would be 
an interesting calculation, if it were possible, to go back 
for many years and see how the successful thoroughbred 
from Kentucky, in proportion to the total number foaled 
there, compared with those that were bred elsewhere. 

Without attempting any solution of the question, or 
venturing to express an ex cathedra opinion, we may at 
least point out some of the few prominent representa- 
tives of the thoroughbred family that have come from 
other parts of the country than Kentucky. New York 
raised American Eclipse and Medoc, who contested on 
equal footing with the best horses of the country in the 
earlier days of the turf, in later yeai's New York could 
point with pride to Glenelg. Olitipa. Ruthless. Ferncliffe, 
Monday, Countess and Forester. Nor nnist we forget 
that the great Ariel, daughter of American Eclipse, was 
of Long Island birth. So too were Black Maria, Bay 
Maria, Shark and other noted horses of the same family. 
In New Jersey. Fashion, daughter of imported Trustee, 
was bred, and surely no horse in the early part of this 
century was more distinguished. Also from New Jersey 
have come Macduff. Hiawasse, Leo, Requital and many 
others. Iroquois, Parole, Sensation, Spinaway, Harold 
and Onondaga were the produce of Pennsylvania. Mary- 
land raised Catesby and Crickmore, while to Virginia are 
credited Boston and scores of others. Illinois, Missouri, 
Ohio. California and Montana have also contributed their 
quota to the successful race horses of the day, and page 
upon page might be filled with simply the enumeration 
of names did time and space permit. 

Enough has already been said, however, to at least 
indicate that no single section of the country can claim 
the exclusive monopoly of having bred our greatest race 
horses. The few names that have been presented, which 
really scai'cely open the list, will suggest scores of others 
entitled to place in the enumeration equally with those 
that have been given. The wonderful success that has 
attended some of the more recent breeding establish- 



166 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ments in the North and the far West is an argument come most of the great blood horses whose careers as 
from practical experience that cannot be easily disposed representative American racers, both in this country and 
of. Such breeding farms as the Erdenheim, Rancocas, in Europe, have reflected glory upon their family and the 



Meadowbrook. Westbrook. Brookdale, Algeria and others 
in the Hast, the Riverside, Bitter Root. Rancho del Paso, 
Palo Alto and others in the far West, have by their pre- 
eminent success in adding many winners to the racing 
calendar and the Stud Book, placed themselves in rank 
with the oldest establishments that have been conspicu- 
ous in Kentucky and other parts of the South for a half 
century or more, it seems to be fully demonstrated in 
these closing years of the century that enterprise, skill 
and scientitic management are quite as important ele- 
ments as favorable natural conditions in securing the 
best breeding I'esults. 

Kentucky, however, is still richer in thoroughbred 
stock than any other section of the United States. There 
is almost no necessity of calling the attention of those 
who have even the most superficial acquaintance with 
the subject to the fact that for many years this State 
enjoyed almost a monopoly in the breeding of the blood 
horse, so that the sentiment in favor of the Kentucky 
foals well-nigh developed into a superstition. To an 
almost incredible extent the State, with its far-famed 
blue grass pastures and limestone soil, was in the olden 



country that gave them birth and nurtured them. 

Even in Kentucky, the home of great stud farms, no 
establishment of the kind ever ranked higher than that at 
Woodburn. For a generation or more it was the largest 
and most successful breeding estate in the world, and it 
has been fairly said of one of its proprietors, Mr. Robert 
A. Alexander, that he •' did more in his short life for the 
improvement of the blood horse than any other man in 
America." Woodburn being one of the first breeding 
places in the United States, really served as a model for 
subsequent undertakings of the same nature. In its 
palmy days no other stud farm sheltered a like number 
of mares and stallions, and none other sent to the race 
track so many great champions. The estate was an ideal 
of an old Kentucky home, and dated back to the pioneer 
days of the State. The Alexander house that for several 
generations was occupied by the family, was built orig- 
inally by a younger brother of a Scotch baronet, who 
settled and married in this Western wilderness. When 
his brother died and he succeeded to the baronetcy, he 
had become so attached to his New World home that he 
refused to return to Scotland. He drew the revenues of 



days, and also indeed in the present, given over to breed- his large estate abroad, however, and expended them in 



mg purposes. In some counties almost the entire acre- 
age of land has been taken up by breeding establishments 
and the agricultural enterprises connected with them, 
while the repute of the great blue grass region has gone 
out to all the world. Although the former pre-eminence 
of the State in this respect has been somewhat shaken in 



improving his Kentucky place until it became a princely 
domain in extent and richness. Throughout his life he 
contented himself with the low and rambling structure, 
part brick and part wood, that he first built and that he 
left as the ancestral home to his descendants. 

One must not overlook Mr. Robert Aitcheson Alex- 



the present generation, the position that it has held for ander in the consideration of those who played a con- 
nearly a century at the head of the great breeding sec- spicuous part in turf affairs during its formative period. 



tions of this country is still successfully maintained. 
Notwithstanding the large and increasing value of the 
thoroughbred output from California, New Jersey and 
elsewhere in recent years, the names of most of the 
great stud farms are still identified with the blue grass 
country. 

Should we attempt to make even the most cursory and 
perfunctory reference to all the stud farms in Kentucky 
that are deserving of recognition for the commendable 
work that they have done in the development of the 
thoroughbred many pages would be required. Some of 
these establishments, however, by reason of their extent. 



Mr. Alexander, although a native Kentuckian. was a 
nephew of Sir William Alexander, of England. Edu- 
cated at Cambridge, England, he was a man of strong 
intellectual powers, and brought to the business of breed- 
ing thoroughbreds an intelligence and knowledge sur- 
passing that of most of his compatriots. He became, 
perhaps, the largest and most successful breeder in the 
world, his large fortune enabling him to give full vent to 
his inclination and to carry out his ideas upon the grand- 
est scale. It is said that not even that wealthy corpora- 
tion, the Rawcliffe Stud Company, of England, exceeded 
his Woodburn establishment in extent or in importance. 



long and honorable history and the very great influence It was not until i8s6, when he was thirty-eight years of 



that they have had in developing the practice of breeding 
and of racing may not be casually passed over. Their 
history has in every way constituted a most important 
part of the history of the thoroughbred in America, and 
they may be fairly taken as typically representative of the 
great breeding interests of the country for a century or 
more. From these renowned establishments have 



age, that he first appeared upon the turf, but in a few 
years he became a conspicuous figure at all racing meet- 
ings, although his blue and white were not at first 
particularly successful. Giving his life to the thorough- 
bred, he never married, but w.is to a considerable extent 
prominent in society. His enthusiastic devotion to his 
chosen profession led him to carry heavier burdens than 



167 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



he was physically capable of, and he died in 1867 at the 
age of forty-eight, worn out by the business cares that 
he had voluntarily assumed. 

Under the management of Mr. A. J. Alexander, who 
succeeded his brother, the Woodburn establishment, 
which comprised some 4,000 acres of land, steadily grew 
in importance and in reputation. The constant aim of 
the Alexanders was always to breed from the most ap- 
proved stallions and mares, and the name of Woodburn 
has been, as a natural result, identified with many of the 
greatest thoroughbreds that the American turf has known 
in the last half of the nineteenth century. Perhaps Lex- 
ington gave the place its most renown, and as the 
corner stone of the American thoroughbred family of the 
middle of the century, he linked the names of Woodburn 
and Alexander with his own. For some ten years fol- 
lowing i8ss, Lexington, Scythian, who was imported 
by the Messrs. Alexander, and Australian, who was im- 
ported by Mr. A. Keene Richards and then purchased by 
the Alexanders, presided over this establishment. After- 
ward other good stallions arrived to keep them company, 
among them being Planet, that phenomenal Virginia 
horse, so long owned by Major Doswell. Asteroid, son 
of Lexington, also came to take his place beside his 
greater sire. Many of the noted horses of the sixties 
and seventies came out of Woodbui'n. among them Nor- 
folk, Kentucky. Asteroid, Pat Malloy, Idlewild, Daniel 
Boone, Gilroy and others. Subsequently Glen Athol, 
then King Alfonso, after the death of Lexington, in 1876, 
and then Lisbon and Pat Malloy were added to the estab- 
lishment. 

Among the great thoroughbred matrons identified with 
Woodburn were Glenluine, dam of Troubadoui' and 
Lizzie Krepps; Jamaica, dam of Foxhall; Cachuca. dam 
of Fresno and Palestine, and imported Flora McDonald, 
dam of Dundee and King Mac. Another was Svlph. 
who traced to the famous Magnolia by imported Glencoe; 
she was the dam of such great horses as Princeton. Han- 
over. Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton, Skedaddle, Kentucky, 
Victory, Madonna and Madeline, grandam of Iroquois. 
Woodburn was the birthplace of the famous Foxhall, son 
of King Alfonso, who was also the sire of Fonso, Gren- 
ada. Don Fulano. Telemachus and other fast ones. From 
Glen Athol, by Blaii' Athol, Glenmore and Checkmate 
went out to further enhance the fame of Woodburn. 
Pat Malloy added Bob Miles. Lord Murphy and others to 
the notable list of this establishment's foals, while Fal- 
setto got Dewdrop, Fresno, Rupert and Fordham. Lis- 
bon got Troubadour, who won the sensational Suburban 
of 1886. Powhattan, by Leamington out of Maiden by 
Lexington, and a full brother to the famous gelding 
Parole, was another inmate of the Woodburn Stud 
along in the eighties. Could all the great racers who 
have come out of Woodburn be brought together 



in one company they would make one of the grandest 
armies of thoroughbreds ever known to the turf in the 
United States, while they would scarcely take second 
place to the like produce of any foreign stud. 

The Elmendorf Stud Farm, although less ancient than 
that of Woodburn, has been particularly notable in later 
years through the brilliant performances of its sons and 
daughters. The establishment was founded by Mr. 
Milton H. Sanfoid, who spent a small fortune in improv- 
ing it, and regarded it as the great achievement of his 
career as a sportsman. Located in the immediate vicin- 
ity of Lexington and in the very heart of the richest blue 
grass region, it comprised over soo acres, nearly all of 
which was rich pasturage. After Mr. Sanford's death it 
became the property of Mi'. Daniel Swigert and later on 
passed into the possession of Mr. C. J. Fnright. Some 
of the finest race horses that were ever stripped on the 
course in tliis country were the product of Elmendorf. 
Here imported Prince Charlie ruled for a few short years 
and got. among other famous sons and daughters, the 
immortal Salvator out of Salina. Here also imported 
Glenelg stood for manv seasons and added much to the 
distinction of the American turf bv his famous progeny- 
Tremont, the unbeaten black wonder, who never knew 
defeat, was dropped here, his dam being Ann Fief, and 
here was foaled that grand tillv Firenze, who beat every- 
thing that came in her way. Finework. one of the most 
successful of the many dams who helped to increase the 
fame of their great sire, Lexington, produced here Port- 
land, Flkhorn Lass and Fmbroidery. Fair Lady, dam of 
Bermuda and Dagonet; Stamps, dam of Katie Pease, 
Louisette and Precious; Peru, dam of Dry Monopole; 
Marguerite, dam of Rupert and Ruperta; Gondola, dam 
of Senorita; these whose names have been caught up at 
random, have been a few among the many matrons who 
threw famous sons and daughters that have added dis- 
tinction to Elmendorf. 

Runnymede Stud, at Paris. Ky., owned and managed 
by the Messrs. Clay & Woodford, is another one of the 
historic breeding establishments of that section. It has 
had a long, notable and honorable career. The owners 
have always given their personal attention to everything 
pertaining to the business of the place, and they have 
been altogether successful in bringing out some of the 
best blood horses of the modern turf. The estate com- 
prises some SCO acres of the best blue grass land. 
Thereon imported Billet has stood in recent years, and in 
the stud have l^een dams of Lexington. Leamington, 
Glencoe and Bonnie Scotland blood. 

One of the most successful breeders in America in the 
early part of the last quarter of the nineteenth century 
was Mr. John M. Clay, whose historic establishment near 
Ashland has been as rich in traditions as any other in the 
United States. Mr. Clay was establislied as a breeder by 



16S 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



his father, the great statesman, Henry Clay, who gave to 
him that fine race horse and excellent stallion, imported 
Yorkshire. Mr. Clay had much success with Magnolia 
and Topaz, who were Glencoe mares, and with Balloon, 
daughter of Yorkshire. The colts that he bred, that 
afterward became great race horses, would be numbered 
bv the hundreds. He had great faith in imported York- 
shire, and also in the crosses of Lexington's sons upon 
Glencoe's daughters. After the death of Mr. Clay his 
widow succeeded to the head of the establishment, and 
for years was the only woman in the United States 
engaged in this particular kind of business. She had a 
complete knowledge of the blood horse and of breeding 
methods, while the pedigrees of all the great thorough- 
breds were as household words to her. She was not 
less successful than her husband had been in raising 
some distinguished performers for the turf and in adding 
value to the blood of the American race horse. 

Bosque Bonita has also been one of the celebrated stud 
farms of Kentucky. It was not a large establishment as 
compared with some of its more conspicuous rivals, 
including less than loo acres. It was charmingly located, 
however, and comprised stretches of beautiful woodland 
and rich pasture. General Abe Buford, the proprietor, 
was one of the foremost turfmen of his period. Upon 
his stud farm were bred some of the most distinguished 
horses that have ever been known to the American turf. 
Among his earlier colts were Charleston, Ruric, Portland 
and many others, not less successful as race horses. In 
later days the chief of the Bosque Bonita Stud was the 
renowned imported Sovereign. This great stallion stands 
in the Stud Book as second only to imported Glencoe as 
a getter of successful racers. Altogether, he was one of 
the most famous sires that the world ever knew, and 
has added immeasurably to the value of American blood 
stock. 

Early in the seventies Mr. M. H. Sanford started his 
breeding establishment at North Elkhorn Farm, near Lex- 
ington, Ky. Sparing neither time nor expense, he built 
a splendici stud farm that in its day was said to have been, 
with one exception, the largest of its class in the United 
States. Here he kept, when he was at the height of his 
interest in the turf, nearly loo brood mares, who com- 
bined in themselves the choicest strains of blood known 
to America. Monarchist, that great race horse, who so 
pre-eminently distinguished himself on many fields of 
honor, was long at the head of the harem. With him 
were Virgil and impoited Glenelg. All three of these 
stallions added to their triumphs on the race course 
further success in the stud. Glenelg produced Idalia. 
Orion, Eva Shirley and others, who were winners in 
their first season. The get of Virgil has been so often 
referred to in these pages that there is no call to say more 
in regard to them here. With these three great stallions 



Mr. Sanford added marvelously to the racing blood of the 
United States. The effect of his enterprise has never 
ceased to be felt even to the present day, and is con- 
stantly in evidence in the performance of many cham- 
pions who trace their origin to horses that wcw foaled and 
bred at North HIkhorn. 

Glen Agnes Stud Farm, that was founded by Mr. N. 
Kinzer, and was afterward owned by Messrs. Douglass 
& Daly, has had a good reputation outside of Kentucky, 
as well as in the State where it was located. Its great 
sire has been imported Eothen, who probably will be 
best remembered as the sire of Requital. The National 
Stock Farm, where Bob Miles, Terra Cotta and others 
stood : the Bashford Manor, with which Azra, Pandee 
and others have been identified; the Stonewall Stud of 
Captain B. Viley, where Belvedere has stood ; the Oak- 
wood Stud of Messrs. Applegate & McMeeken, with its 
Melbourne and Hurricana sires; the names of these 
readily come up in this connection, and with equal grace 
a hundred others quite as worthy of enumeration might 
be added to the list without closely approaching the end 
of the subject. 

Tennessee has sometimes been a close rival of Ken- 
tucky in the importance of its breeding interests. Easily 
among the foremost nurseries in that State must stand 
the famous Belle Meade Stud Farm, that for nearly three- 
quarters of a century has occupied a prominent part in 
the work of developing the American thoroughbred. It 
is a magnificent property of i,8oo acres, comprising 
some of the best land for breeding purposes known in 
that section of the country. Among the great stallions 
who have been identified with it and who ended their 
lives in its harem have been imported Priam, the Derby 
winner; imported Eagle, imported Bluster. Vandal, Jack 
Malone, Childe Harold, imported Bonnie Scotland, John 
Moi'gan and many others scarcely second in merit. In 
contemporaneous times Iroquois, Luke Blackburn, En- 
quirer, Longstreet, Clarendon, imported Great Tom, 
imported Loyalist, Tremont and Inspector B. have 
reigned supreme. During twenty years, from 1870 to 
i8qo, the produce of the Belle Meade Stud Farm won 
upward of $2,000,000 in stakes and purses. In 1891, 12s 
racers from the establishment won over $100,000 in 4S0 
races, and the record in years following that date has 
shown even an advance over those remarkable figures. 
Enquirer as an inmate of this stud achieved a national 
reputation. During thirteen years, from 1878 to i8qo, 
inclusive, his get won in stakes and pui'ses upward of 
$465,000. 

Among the Belle Meade matrons who have been par- 
ticularly distinguished are Tullahoma, dam of Tulla Black- 
burn and Tammany; Silver Maid, dam of Young Luke 
and Taviston: Vintage Time, dam of Uncle Bob, who 
won the American Derby; Bribery, dam of Miss Ford 



i6g 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Mild Zuleika; Miss H;impton, dam of Elyton; Guildean, 
dam of Ben Harrison, Wrestler and Guildura. and Mari- 
posa, dam of Swift. Beatitude and Boulevard. For a 
generation tlie Belie Meade Farm was in the possession 
of General W. G. Harding and General W. H. Jackson, 
two of the most enterpi'ising of modern turfmen. In 
i8q^, Mi-. Richard Croker signalized his advent upon the 
turf by purchasing a half interest of the estate from Gen- 
eral Jackson. The price that he paid, $2so.ooo, suffi- 
ciently indicates the great value of the place. Dobbins, 
Yorkville Belle. Longstreet and other famous thorough- 
breds have been in the Belle Meade Stud in recent times. 

One must not leave Tennessee without lirst having 
given attention to the Fairview Stud of Mr. Charles Reed, 
situated near Gallatin. Although one of the younger 
establishments, as compared with some of the historic 
farms, it has long had an enviable leputation. The Fair- 
view came notably into prominence when its proprietor, 
with an intrepidity that well-nigh astounded the tuif 
world, paid $100,000 for imported St. Blaise when the 
Nursery Stud of the late Honorable August Belmont was 
sold in i8qi. Previous to that time Mr. Reed had a well 
established stud, but the advent of St. Blaise gave it a 
pre-eminence that it had never enjoyed before, and in 
some respects marked an important point in the history 
of American breeding. The value of an undoubtedly 
high class and SLiccessful stallion was particularly em- 
phasized by the fee of .$2,soo which Mi'. Reed placed 
upon St. Blaise. 

When that eminent sire entered the Fairview Stud the 
establishment had already been identified with some very 
good stallions. There was imported Mr. Pickwick, son 
of the Derby winner. Heimit. and also Forester. Miser, 
imported Cheviot, Long Taw, imported Muscovy and 
Fxile. son of imported Mortemer. Miser, a full brother 
to Spendthrift, was fairly successful for his owner, and 
made Fairview especially well known through his 
daughter, Yoikville Belle, who was one of the best 
two-year olds of her season. Thora, that grand old 
mare, was the most distinguished matron ever attached 
to Fairview. As the dam of the famous Dobbins, by 
Mr. Pickwick, and the wonderful filly. Yorkshire Belle, 
by Miser, she added glories to the American turf that age 
can never dim. Among her companions have been Mary 
Anderson, dam of Warv. Melodrama and Actor; Bonnie 
Wood, dam of Pha'ni.x. Annie and Hell Gate; Athleen. 
dam of Peter and Athlete, and Acquital, dam of Defend- 
ant and Not Guilty, with many others not at all less 
woithy of note. 

Of the stud farms that have existed in New Jersey in 
modern times none has been more deservedly prominent 
than the famous Brookdale, the property of Mr. David 
D. Withers, the mentor of the American turf. During 
the lifetime of the ■" Sage of Brookdale " his establishment 



had a reputation second to none anywhere in the coun- 
try. Situated in a neighborhood famous for its horse 
traditions and identified with sLich noble animals as 
Eclipse, Mingo and others in the olden times, Brookdale 
was an ideal stud farm and the beloved home of an ideal 
sportsman. In the immediate vicinity was the old Lloyd 
farm, forever associated with the names of Nemesis and 
Attila. Nearby was the farm of Mr. Francis Morris, one 
of the foremost sportsmen of the last generation. There 
Ruthless, Relentless, Remorseless and other members of 
the famous Baiharity family, were bred, while in later 
years, under another owner. St. Martin, Plevna and Post- 
Guard were trained. Wildidle was ti'ained on the track 
of this farm, in 187s, and brought into the condition that 
enabled him to win the Fordham Handicap. The neigh- 
borhood of Brookdale is full of the most delightfiil recol- 
lections pertaining to the thoroughlired. his breeding and 
his racing. 

Brookdale was not originally designed for a stud farm. 
Mr. Withers bought the property purely for training pur- 
poses, and, as he once expressed it, " 1 didn't embark in 
breeding — 1 drifted into it." But, having once engaged 
in the business, he continued in it with that enthusiasm 
and unreserved devotion that characterized all his pro- 
ceedings as a sportsman. He had his own peculiar 
theories in regard to the development of the thorough- 
bred, and persisted in following those, ever refusing 
to cater to the likes and dislikes of others. His judg- 
ment was not always faultless, but he steadily held to 
his own opinions, nevertheless. When he had come to 
a decision in regard to the merits of a stallion, nothing 
could change him, even though the racing world refused 
to follow him or to buy his yearlings. He bred his own 
race horses and with them achieved a considerable suc- 
cess, although not as great as that which must be cred- 
ited to other owners who were of his time. 

(ximparatively speaking, few great race horses came 
out of Brookdale. The only chance the public had to 
buy the produce of his establishment was at the weed- 
ing out sales, when the surplus yearling stock, or selec- 
tions from the racing stable, were sold under the ham- 
mer. Some of those whom the master of Brookdale 
thus disposed of were fairly successful, quite as much 
so. indeed, as any that Mr. Withers ran in his own colors. 
For example, it is part of the turf history of the time 
that, in i8qo, Mr. Withers sold all the yearlings by Ven- 
tilator, against whom he had conceived an ineradicable 
prejudice. Three of these yearlings, Airplant. Airshaft 
and Airtight, were purchased by Mr. M. F. Dwyer, and 
the first named, especially, turned out to be a very good 
colt, winning for his owner .$17,61 s. 

Among the stallions who stood at Brookdale were 
King Frnest. Stonehenge. Macaroon. Sensation, Venti- 
lator, imported Mortemer, Intruder, Hothen. Stalwart and 



170 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

Thunderstorm. Mr. Withers never purch;ised many chased bv the late Colonel William 1'. Thompson, of 

brood mares, but his racing fillies as they retired began whom it has been well said that no more thorough gen- 

to accumulate and were served by his stallions. Im- tleman or more gallant sportsman ever graced the turf, 

ported Mortemer he bought when the horse was twenty- either in this country or in Hurope. Brookdale naturally 

one years old. taking him from the breaking-up sale of lost none of its fame in the hands of its new owner, 

the Rancocas Stud. Ventilator, whom he despised. The enthusiasm and wise liberality for which Colonel 

denying his claim as a thoroughbred, brought him some Thompson was noted throughout his life were strikingly 

of his best youngsters. Out of several of his brood displayed in this venture. Unhappily, he was not spared 

mares that were sent to Tom Ochiltree in the hopes, as to enjoy the fruits of his labors. His death, in February, 

he said, '• of getting fillies with Lexington top cross for i8q6, left a void in social and business circles as well as 

breeding purposes," he secured such good colts as Major in the world of sport that even the lapse of years cannot 

Domo, Cynosure, Tomboy, Orator and Sluggard, a fairly till. Yet all lovers of true, honest sport and all who are 

successful result, but disappointing to the owner of interested in the progress of horse breeding rejoiced that 

Brookdale because it was contrary to his theories and the late Colonel Thompson's sons, the Messrs. Lewis S. 

expectations. Thompson and William P. Thompson, Jr., who were 

One of the best horses ever turned out from the estab- associated with him in the conduct of the Brookdale en- 

lishment, and by many considered quite the best, was a terprise prior to his demise, have continued it upon pre- 

son of Sensation, by Imported Faverdale by The Palmer, cisely the same lines, in the same spirit, and with a 

This horse was never named, but as a two-year old, in degree of success that augurs well for the future of 

1 888, he was the best member of Mr. Withers' stable, Brookdale. 

winning $21, ^40. In that same season ten of the twelve Colonel Thompson was a native of Virginia. A South- 
two-year olds that Mr. Withers started, all of them hav- erner to the core, his sympathies arrayed him on the 
ing been bred by him. were winners. That year of 1888 Confederate side in the Civil War. On the termination 
was the best Withers' year known up to that time, of the war he was one of the first Southern men to 
For more than fifteen years previously he had steadfastly establish himself in the metropolis, and in a few years 
fought fate and paid out a small fortune in forfeits, never was not only the master of a considerable fortune, but 
succeeding in attaining the success on the race course was a factor of no small importance in the world of 
most heartily wished for him by those who appreciated finance and commerce. With the inbred aptitude of a 
his truly sportsmanlike character and the great services Vii-ginian for legitimate sport, he combined a profound 
that he rendered to the cause of the tuif. knowledge of horseflesh, and was a patron of the tun 

One of the first mai'es who was settled at Brookdale for many years before he assumed the role of an active 

was Miss Nellie, grandam of Stonenell. She was a aspirant for its honors. He was connected by business 

daughter of Eclipse, and was bred by Mi'. Francis Morris and social ties with the leading men of the American 

upon his Westchester fai'm. Although she had good tuif. and his advice was sought and respected by the best 

Orlando and Lexington blood, she failed of appreciation, element in racing circles. When, therefore, in the winter 

and was used as a hack, and also driven to hai'ness of i8q^, it was announced that the famous Brookdale 

until relegated to the stud in 1884. There she justi- pi'operty, with its stud, and indeed the entire plant, just 

tied her claim to good thoroughbred ancestry by foaling as it had existed in Mr. Withers' time, had passed from 

Nell, who became the dam of Stonenell. Another early the executois of the latter to Colonel Thompson, there 

Brookdale matron was Elsie, a daughter of Leamington, was a general feeling of gratification in the American 

and out of Babta, who was also Glenelg's dam. Mr. racing world. 

Withers purchased Elsie from Mr. R. W. Cameron. She Under its new propiietor the famous old farm became 
was named after Miss Elsie Barlow, and was fairly sue- more than ever an object of interest to the racing com- 
cessful on the turf, but a failure as a brood mare. Mimi, munity. Probably no man engaged in racing and breed- 
by Eclipse, was perhaps the most famous mare ever as- ing ever enjoyed those pursuits more than Colonel 
sociated with Brookdale. She was bred in i86q by Mr. Thompson. Yet, while finding in the Brookdale estab- 
Francis Morris, and when she was three years old she lishment a needed relief from the engrossing cares of his 
carried the all black of Mr. Withers to distinction in vast business enterprises, he was not unmindful of the 
some important races. In the stud she threw Kinglike, large pecuniary stake that the farm represented. With 
Mikado, Stately and Viceroy to King Ernest, and also characteristic energy and judgment, he proceeded at once 
was the dam of Copyright, by Uncas. to improve and enlarge the stud, and the perfection 

Upon the death of Mr. Withers, the title, " Master of which the present buildings represent is largely due to 
Brookdale." fell upon one in eyery way qualified and the liberal, yet wise, expenditures which were under- 
worthy to bear it. The stud, stable and farm were pur- taken at his instance. 

171 



THE AMERICAN T'JRF 



At the same time he fully appreciated the fact that pro- 
gress in a breeding establishment must be continuous. 
In i8q^, lie visited England and made liberal offers for 
Lord Roseberry's Ladas and the Duke of Westminster's 
Orme. Although unable to secure the great horses 
that he wished. Bi'ookdale was. howevei', not left with- 
out a signal benefit from its owner's investigation of the 
thoroughbred stock of the mother country. One of his 
judicious acc]uisitions was the mare. The Apple. She 
was at the time of her purchase and transfer to Brook- 
dale a horse that had enjoyed a phenomenal record on 
the running turf, and had her foal. One I Love, by her 
side. The most famous product of the Brookdale stud 
under Colonel Thompson's administration was Re- 
L]uital. one of the best horses of recent years. He 
was foaled at Brookdale in the autumn of 189;!, and was 
purchased as a yearling by Messrs. Gideon & Daly for 
$2,800. The great youngster began his career by win- 
ning the Futurity with a rush, and it was characteristic 
of Colonel Thompson that he promptly paid Mr. Gideon 
$26,000 to regain possession of the colt. 

The Brookdale property comprises about 000 acres of 
land, pasture, woodland and arable soil, agreeably diver- 
sified by running streams. Upon it there are some sixty 
modern buildings, with every convenience for the bi'eed- 
ing and training of the thoroughbred. Two large, com- 
plete high class dwellings loom up as one approaches the 
farm from Red Bank. In one of them lives Mr. Rowe, 
the trainer, and the other is the family homestead of the 
Messrs. Thompson. The hundred or more employees of 
the farm are all comfortably housed within its precincts, 
and among the other features of the management is the 
permanent employment of a physician to look after the 
health of their help. Another matter which may well be 
a subject of approving mention is the office. It is a 
counting-room such as would be found in a huge com- 
mercial or banking establishment, and heie the whole 
administration and business of the gi'eat stud is tians- 
acted with the same regularity that woLild be seen in a 
purely commercial concern. 

Referring to the technical side of the Brookdale plant, 
it may be said that it includes two tracks, one of a mile 
and the other a half-mile distance. An eighth of a mile 
track has also been built under cover so that young 
horses can be successfullv prepared for earlv spring 
engagements. There is stabling for i w horses and 
numerous paddocks, the abundance of running brooks 
supplying pure water for the stock, while the strips of 
woodland that are found throughout the estate offer a 
shelter, and at the same time give a truly picturesque 
appearance to the landscape. High grade cattle and 
swine are also among the specialties of Brookdale, and a 
large proportion of the feed rec]uired by the establish- 
ment is raised on the estate, the farming operations 



requiring the service of a score or so of work hoi'ses. 
To-dav Brookdale is one of the representative breeding 
establishments of the country, and its owners are ener- 
getically carrying out the policy that their respected 
father inaugurated. They possess ambition, wealth and 
entei'prise. The magnificent plant at their command 
should make it possible that their colors will be among 
the most prominent on the couises of America, while 
from the Brookdale stud, particularly with the additions 
thev contemplate making to the stallions and mares com- 
posing it, we may expect from year to year many nota- 
ble youngsters who will keep up the well-earned fame 
that the faiin enjoys in the equine world. Nor is the 
least of the grounds for confidence in the future of Brook- 
dale supplied by the fact that there are few places of the 
kind in the woild better oi'ganized and officered. The 
mere mention that Mr. James G. Rowe, a leader among 
modern trainers, is head of the staff, is sufficient of itself 
to carry conviction on this point. 

A long and interesting article could be written with 
reference to the Brookdale horses, past and present. It 
is a roll of honor that includes animals that have, season 
by season, taken a commanding position in the esteem 
of the racing public and of sires whose get rank high in 
the aristocracy of horses. Of stallions there are Faver- 
dale, the son of Sensation and grandson of the famous 
Lexington, Kinglike, by imported King Ernest, both of 
which horses were bred by Mr. 'Withers himself at Brook- 
dale. Their comrades include imported Macaroon, 
Stonehenge, by Blair Athol. and Uncas, one of the last 
and best sons of that staunch sire, Lexington. 

The get of these Brookdale stallions have included 
many noted brood mares, who, since the foundation of 
the enterprise by Mr. 'Withers and under the proprietor- 
ship of its present owners, have given to the American 
tuif some of its most celebrated horses. King Ernest 
got Adage out of Maxim; Auricoma out of Belinda; 
Bassinette out of Miss Bassett; Bibelot out of Knick- 
nack: Fccola out of Echo; Nell out of Miss Nellie; 
Stately out of Mimi; Triolet out of Trill, and Inverwick 
out of Invermore. Macaroon got Cadence out of Casta- 
gnette; Knicknack out of Bijou. Uncas got Cascade out 
of Cadence; Doreen out of Michaelmas; Nutbrown out 
of Mimi ; Trill out of Cadence, and Uproar out of Cyclone. 
Imported Faverdale got Castania out of Castagnette. 
Stonehenge got Necromancy out of Nancy; Stonecrop 
out of Mary Buckley, and Golden Rod out of Auricoma. 
Other distinguished matrons of this establishment are 
Castalia, by imported Mortemer out of Castagnette; 
Emilia by Muncaster out of E. M. ; Favonia by Favonius 
out of Wall Flower; Essayez II. by Cremorne out of Pill 
Box : Miss Maud by Duke of Montrose out of Miss 
Mattie: Sandola by Iroquois out of Gondola, and Wyan- 
dotte by impoited Leamington out of Nemesis. 



172 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Ncvei' second to Brookdalc in hiiih repute and even 
superior at tiie height of its career in the success of its 
breeding operations, was the Rancocas Stud that Mr. 
Pierre Loriilard established at Jobstown, N. j. Over 
fifteen hundred acres were included in the faiin, mostly 
meadow land, with a good three-c^uarter mile track. At 
the height of its career in the early eighties the Rancocas 
held more than eighty brood mares, and a half score 
stallions, while a full half hundred horses were generally 
in training, besides many weanlings, half-breds and 
horses for general use. The training stable had no 
superior in the country, being circular in shape, and hav- 
ing a walking ring sheltered for winter work. To 
name all the great horses that came out of Rancocas 
would be an agreeable task, even though it would be of 
interminable length and would be practically a well-nigh 



1 osca. Ml'. Loriilard also owned La Tosca, for whom 
he paid .'*;it,cxk), and many other distinguished thorough- 
breds of these later days have been identified with 
Rancocas. 

The younger Mr. Pierre Loriilard followed in the foot- 
steps of his father in taking an interest in racing. At 
one time he had a lease of the old Hunter estate in West- 
chester County, where he maintained a select breeding 
stud. The neighborhood in which he began business 
was historic in thoroughbred annals. Not far away 
Medoc, Maid of the Oaks and Cora were foaled in the 
earlier days of the century. Nearer our own time. 
Alarm, Ruthless, Rhadamanthus, Relentless, Merciless, 
Monday and others of not less brilliant renown were 
foaled under the direction of Mr. Hunter. Imported 
Eclipse stood there during the greater part of his lifetime. 



complete history of racing in the palmy days of the Censor, Balrownie and Kentucky were also identified 
Northern turf after the war. There some of the most with the same place, but the greatest thoroughbred glory 



celebrated race horses of this generation were bred and 
trained. There Saxon and Attila were prepared for their 
turf careers, and, more notable than they, both Parole 
and Iroquois were put through the course of training 
that fitted them for the brilliant victories that they 
achieved upon the English turf. Gonfalon was a con- 
spicuous figure here in the early eighties, and with him 
were su;h great ones as Venetia. Duke of Magenta and 
Endymion. Pizarro was also one of the noted horses of 
the establishment, a perfect model of what a blood horse 
should be, and Nimrod, Spartacus, Amazon, Breeze, In- 
constant. Disdain. Battledore and others also brought 
glory to the Lorillaid colors. Impoited Mortemer. one 
of the best horses that ever came from England in this 
generation, stood heie for many years. 

Finallv Mr. Loriilard broke up his stud, having a sale 
that was one of the great events of the day in turf circles, 
and that distributed many notable horses to other studs 
and stables. His passion for racing, however, still re- 



of the locality was derived from Leamington, when he 
stood there and got Aristides, Olitipa, Rhadamanthus, 
Bob Woolley, Hyder All and James A. Young Mr. Lorii- 
lard began business with a very good young stallion and 
several fine bred mares. His stallion was Siddartha, by 
Pero Gomez out of The Pearl by Newminster; grandam. 
Caller On by Stockwell. 

In its day the Algeria Stud of the Honorable William 
L. Scott, located at Erie. Pa., was one of the leading 
establishments in the United States. Mr. Scott's con- 
nection with the turf was for a comparatively short time, 
somewhat less than ten years. His bleeding establish- 
ment, however, assumed a position in tlie first rank 
almost from its inception. If its owner had done noth- 
ing else, one act alone would have made him famous the 
world over, and that was his purchase, at the breaking- 
up sale of the Dangu Stud, in France, in 1882, of the 
great French race hoise. Rayon d'Or. winner of the 
Doncaster St. Leger. Rayon d'Or cost his new owner 



mained with him, and after a few years he began to $^0,000, the highest price that had ever been paid for an 

build up Rancocas again, which presently assumed some- imported stallion up to that time. This purchase, which 

thing of the importance that attached to it in its earlier was actually Mr. Scott's first venture into the field of 

years. One of his most important acquirements in this turf activity, placed him with a bound in the front rank 

period of his racing history was Simon Magus, the only of his compeers. The success of his establishment was 

son of the great English sire, St. Simon, that had ever assured beyond possibility of doubt, and it grew in fame 

been brought across the Atlantic. The dam of Simon and just repute year after year until the death of its 

Magus was the famous race mare. Wheel of Fortune, owner brought about its dispersal, in 1892. 

who had the exceptional record which has fallen to the The wLsdom of the purchase of Rayon d'Or was fully 

lot of but very few racers of never having been defeated demonstrated by the fact that at the breaking-up sale of 

until the day she broke down in a race. Other Rancocas Algeria, after he had performed invaluable service in the 

stallions of fame have been imported Sailor Prince, the stud for nearly ten years, an advance of §2.000 more 

winner of the Cambridgeshire of 1886, and Emperor, the than his cost in 1882 was paid for him. Rayon d'Or 



sire of Vestibule, Gramercy, and other good ones. 
Among the mares who became inmates of the new Ran- 
cocas have been Bella, dam of Belisarius, Beauty and 
Belle D. ; Magnetic, and Tarbouche, a half-sister to La 



was the king of the Algeria Stud, and never abdicated 
his position during the life of Mr. Scott. No imported 
stallion ever had more success, and his offspring have 
been among the greatest racers of this generation. The 



173 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ligures show that duiini;: the four seasons immediately 
preceding the dispersal of the Algeria Stud his get earned 
the grand total of $408,798. In one year alone -iSSq — 
they placed to the credit of their sire $174,620. When 
it is recalled that Tenny. Chaos, Tea Tray and Ban- 
quet, not to forget other almost ec]Lially good ones, 
were gifts of Rayon d'Or to the American turf, the value 
of his sei'vices as a sire may be fully appreciated. Other 
stallions that Mr. Scott owned were Kantaka, Algerine 
and Wanderer. Kantaka was half-brother to the great 
English sire, Heimit; Algerine was by Abd-el-Kader, out 
of Nina by Boston, and Wanderer, who was also a good 
race horse, was of tine native blood. In the last year 
of his life Mr. Scott added to his stud the French stallion, 
Aerolithe. 

in the Algeria Stud were some twenty or more im- 
ported mai'es, and generally about tifty native mares. 
Many of the matrons had not only shown their good 
qualities on the race course, but also became eminent 
producers. AU-Hands-Around, who had been noted in 
her turf career through Bolero and Lillie R., added to 
her fame as a race mare by becoming the dam of Chaos, 
winner of the Futurity. From Belle of Maywood Mr. 
Scott bred Tenny; from Ella T. came Tea Tray and 
Banquet, while Torso and Aurelia, two lirst-class horses 
who increased the leputation of Algeiia. were out of 
imported Santa Lucia, a daughter of Lord Lyon. 

Mr. Aristides Welch's Erdenheim Stud, near Philadel- 
phia, needed no greater distinction than that which 
accrued to it from imported Leamington and Iroquois to 
fix it forever in the grateful remembrance of all American 
turfmen. Erdenheim, beautifully located at the foot of 
Chestnut Hill, gave to the turf other distinguished racers 
besides Parole. Through imported Leamington an influ- 
ence went out from it that has been of incalculable value 
to the American blood horse. The new strain thus intro- 
duced has been productive of results, especially in con- 
nection with the Lexington family, the importance of 
which it is impossible to exaggeiate. Erdenheim has 
had a place in history quite apart from its connection 
with the breeding interests of the turf. It was one of 
the old colonial establishments of Pennsylvania, and in 
its solid gray stone mansion George Washington and 
other dignitaries at all periods in our country's historv, 
from the earliest down to the present, were entertained. 
With Leamington, Maggie B. B. shared honors, and both 
of these great horses, with Flora Temple, of trotting 
renown, rest side by side in graves upon the old farm 
which they did so much during their lifetime to make 
renowned. Massive granite slabs, simply inscribed with 
their names, mark their last resting-places. 

The Ferncliffe Stud of Mr. William Astor at Rhinebeck 
held an important place among the breeding establish- 
ments of the North along in the eighties. Its dispersal 



about the same time that the Nursei'y Stud and several 
other establishments were sold was a notable event of 
that period. Imported Galore, a son of the English sire. 
Galopin, was for a long time at the head of the Fern- 
cliffe Stud. Afterward, when Mi'. Astor began again to 
get together another stock, he placed imported Cavalier, 
a son of the great Prince Charlie, in his establishment as 
the (h'st step toward leviving something of its former 
prestige. Had it not been for his untimely death in 
iSc)2, it is likely that the FernclifTe would once again 
have taken an important part in the breeding affairs of 
New York. 

When the late Mi'. M. H. Sanfoid, who was the sec- 
ond Ameiican to try his foitunes on the English turf, 
made up his mind to go extensively into breeding, as 
well as racing, he sought for a location for the establish- 
ment that he proposed in New Jersey. No place could 
surpass in natural attractiveness the little village of Preak- 
ness, in the outskirts of the city of Paterson, where he 
finally settled. The place is an old Quaker settlement 
under the shadow of the Preakness Mountains, and the 
local name, which Mr. Sanford also adopted for his farm, 
was not long thereafter in obtaining a world-wide repu- 
tation. His great stallion, who also bore the same name, 
carried the fame of the locality throughout the United 
States and even to England. Originally established in a 
moderate way as a training ground, the Preakness Farm 
ultimately became famous. Mr. Sanford's venture, it 
must be confessed, appeared at that time to be some- 
what hazardous. Racing had. as yet, scarcely started 
upon its new caieer, but Preakness became one of the 
most important influences that contributed to the revival 
which has now become historic. 

The track at Preakness quicklv became a noted train- 
ing ground. Loadstone, Lancaster, Niagara, La Polka, 
Madam Dudley, Preakness, Mate and Stamps, than whom 
no greater race horses ever gave glory to the tLirf. were 
put through their paces here and prepared for their con- 
quering careers. The retired location of the track was 
altogether favoiable to Mr. Sanfoi'd's plans, and many 
surprises were brought out from there to dumfound the 
talent on race days. When Mr. Sanford abandoned rac- 
ing in 1881, he sold the Preakness Farm to Mr. James 
Galway, under whose management it has constantly 
maintained the highest reputation that it ever attained in 
its best days. 

Another breeding establishment in the vicinitv of New 
York out of which went a wide and powerful influence 
was that of Mr. R. W. Cameron, at Clifton, Staten 
Island. It was called the Clifton Stud, and was main- 
tained by its owner upon a generous scale and with 
intelligent entei'prise. Natui'ally, on account of his Eng- 
lish origin, Mr. Cameron had more than an ordinai'y 
interest and knowledge of the thoroughbred. His early 



174 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



associations gave iiim a predisposition towaid tile tiioi- 
OLighbred of iiis native land, and lie became especially 
well known as an importer of some of the best horses 
that have come into this country within the recollection 
of the present generation. He even went to the expense 
of bringing over English upland hay for his stock, firm 
in his belief in the saving qualities of that food. Among 
his most noted importations were Warminster, son of 
Newminster and Black Bess by Ratcatcher; imported 
Hampton Court, who was of the great Melbourne and 
Bay Middleton blood; and imported Glenevis by Oulston 
(son of Melbourne and Alice Hawthorne) out of Volucris 
by Voltigeur. Two other of his importations were even 
more famous, and by their achievements, especially in 
the stud, have lifted the name of their owner to the 
highest position for valuable service to the American 
blood horse family. The first of these was Leamington, 
concei'ning whom it is hei'e unnecessary to do more 
than to make the mere mention of his name. The other 
was Glenelg, who was imported, with his dam, Babta, 
and who was one of the most useful stallions in his day. 

Early in the seventies, Californians were indulging in 
a great deal of pride over their thoroughbreds, and were 
beginning to predict that their horses would be able in a 
few years to successfully compete with the East in point 
of speed and staying qualities. The opinion was held 
by many that the climate there was superior to any of 
the Eastern States for the production of the highest 
type of race horse. The comparison of that period with 
the present shows the wondei'ful development that has 
been m.ide in turf affairs in that section during the last 
twenty years or more. Then the majority of thorough- 
breds on the Pacific Coast were located in Califoinia, 
though other States thereabouts occasionally maintained 
a good one. Califoinia, however, despite its pre-emi- 
nence, had less than twenty-five thoroughbred stallions 
in 1S76, principally imported from the East. Among 
those were Joe Daniels, Monday, Bays water, imported 
Hercules, Lodi, Leinster, Woodbui'n, Langford, Noii'olk, 
Newry, Three Cheers, Pittsbuigh, Earnest, Rifieman, 
Springbok, Hock Hocking and Rutherford. Really good 
brood mares were scarce in the State, and breeding had, 
as yet, scarcely entered upon an experimental period. 

One of the most impoitant breeding establishments in 
the early days of the California turf was that of Mr. 
William 1.. Pritchard, who was located in San Fi'ancisco, 
where he had stables, with pasturage in the outskirts of 
the city, and an extensive ranch on the Sacramento River. 
Mr. Pritchard's stallions included Leinster by imported 
Australian out of Luilume by Lexington; Pittsburgh by 
Pat Malloy out of Evangeline by imported Eclipse; 
Waterford by Langford out of Margretta by Lexington, 
and Earnest by Derby (by imported Eclipse) out of 
Eglantine, by Lambda (by imported Priam). His brood 



m.ires included representatives of the stock ol Crey 
Eagle, imported Glencoe, Bonnie Scotland, imported 
Balrownie and Lexington. 

In recent years particularly, (California has commanded 
the attention of horsemen, not only in the United States 
but all over the world. It is no longer a theory, but an 
attested fact, that the Golden State possesses specific 
qualities for the perfect production of the thoroughbred. 
Animals bred and trained there not only possess the 
fundamental requisites of speed and endurance, but may 
be fairly said To represent a new type and a further 
advance in the evolution of the race horse. It is, per- 
haps, a little too soon to decide what may be the ulti- 
mate outcome of this interesting experiment of raising 
thoroughbreds so far away from what is considered to 
be their natural home in Kentucky. Nevertheless, suf- 
ficient has already resulted to show beyond all question 
that the California breeding establishments are certain 
to exercise a considerable and lasting effect upon the 
future of the American turf 

Out on the Pacific Coast they have a habit of doing 
things in a big way. Breeding has been carried on upon 
a lai'ge scale and almost unmindful of expense. Several 
stud farms that have been established in the clos- 
ing part of the nineteenth century have surpassed in size, 
and even rivaled in the fame of their produce, the best of 
their kind elsewhere in the United States. Some good 
horses have come from there, and the importations from 
Australia, introduced into this country through the 
Golden Gate, have already made a large impression 
upon the American thoroughbred family. The pioneers 
in breeding in California in this quarter of a century 
were Theodore Winters, John Hall and George Treat. 
Since then we have had Messrs. James B. Haggin and E. 
J. Baldwin. Senator George B. Hearst, Senator Leland 
Stanford and others. 

Among Californians who have been interested in 
horses in the present generation, certainly no one has 
done more to fix contemporaneous racing and bleeding 
interests upon an assured and stable foundation than Mr. 
James B. Haggin, and no one has been more prominent 
or more infiuential in establishing the worth of California 
thoroughbreds and the value of California breeding 
in the minds of lovers of horses throughout the 
United States. 0ns might go further than that without 
exceeding the bounds of propriety, and say that Mr. 
Haggin is to-day one of the few Americans whose 
reputation extends beyond the confines of racing circles 
in America. A representative in the truest sense of the 
best element in turf circles, his connection with racing 
and breeding has been in every way as important as 
that of any gentleman of the present generation. As an 
owner he engaged actively and energetically in racing, 
and his participation in such affairs was a distinct benefit 



175 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



to the sport. Few owners in the history of the Ameri- 
can turf have ever devoted themselves more unreserv- 
edly to this sport, or have supported their stables more 
generously. His operations were conducted upon a 
grand scale, and their brilliancy had a marked effect, not 
only upon the racing community, but also upon 
the outside public, for the performances of his horses 
were of such a notable character that they became mat- 
ters of a national, if not, indeed, of international interest. 
Although Mr. Haggin has now withdrawn from the 
cares as well as the delights of ownership in a 
racing sense, the work in which he is now engaged, 
that of breeding the best blood that the equine world 
can afford, under ideal circumstances, so far as material 
surroundings are concerned, promises to have results of 
the most far-reaching character. 

Descended from a Kentucky family, and a native of 
Mercer County in the Blue Grass State, Mr. Haggin is 
naturally a lover of horses. Of his business career, 
notable and interesting as it is, little need be said here. 
It can only be pointed out that he is one of the men of 
whom California and the West are proud, that his enter- 
prise and force of character have been potent instru- 
ments in developing the mineral I'esources of our coun- 
try's western domain, and that the same liberality, practical 
spirit and enterprise that are his distinguishing traits in 
connection with the turf have been equally marked in his 
private and business life. His success has been a tri- 
umph of character and ability, and it might be further- 
more said that the steady support and following his 
stable received from the California contingent at our 
tracks was as much a personal tribute as it was a pro- 
fessional estimate of his judgment where horsellesh is 
concerned. 

Mr. Haggin found little to interest him in the trotter, 
which was the dominant racing animal in California 
when he took up his residence in that State. The 
natural sporting passion of his native State possessed 
him, and he organized a tn'st-class racing stable that he 
sent to all the principal meetings from San Francisco to 
New York. His racing exploits now form a bright, 
even though too brief, page in the history of the turf. 
When the names of such horses as Salvator, Firenze, 
Ben Ali, Fitzjames, Fresno, Tyrant, Ban Fox, King Fox, 
Hidalgo and others in his stable are named, they recall 
stirring memories of a series of famous seasons from 
1887 to iSqo, when his colors were foremost in the great 
events on our tracks. It was a series of sensational vic- 
tories and famous matches, and even where defeat over- 
came his four-footed champions, defeat was always 
coupled with honor. The name of the owner became 
known in every part of the country. 

When, in 1890, Mr. Haggin turned mainly from racing 
to breeding, the possibilities involved in his new depar- 



ture commanded the attention of horsemen everywhere, 
not only for the large scale on which his breeding oper- 
ations are conducted, but for the spirit which animates 
him in this connection and the remarkable character of 
the animals he has gathered together. Mr. Haggin's 
estate, Rancho del Paso, in Sacramento County, Califor- 
nia, comprises over 44,000 acres, and evei'ything that 
judicious expenditure could do has been lavished on it 
until it is probably not only one of the greatest, but one 
the best equipped establishment for the breeding of 
thoroughbred horses in the world. Heie, under the 
efticient charge of Mr. John Mackey, there has been 
gathered an aggregation of famous horseflesh such as 
was never before assembled in the stud. 

The foundation of this stud was the importation, at a 
great expense, of two stallions from Australia, Darebin 
and Sir Modred. Subsequently, Mr. Haggin imported 
Star Ruby from the Hampton Stud in England, and also 
Candlemas. His great American star stallion has been 
Salvator, the phenomenon of the American turf of this 
generation, and with him has stood Fitzjames, Fresno, 
Torso, Tyrant, and other good Americans. Later, Mr. 
Haggin added to his Australian blood horses, the New 
Zealander, Maxim, son of the Fnglish thoroughbred 
Musket, who was allowed to depart from his native 
home to the Antipodes before his great worth was fully 
recognized. In New Zealand he became the sire of 
Carbine, Martini-Henry, Nordenfeldt, and many other 
good ones. 

Other stallions of Rancho del Paso have been Morello, 
Cliveden, Prestonpans, Calvados, Owas, Midlothian, 
Order, Ben Ali, Kismet, Uncle Jip. July (Brother to Sir 
Modred). Gold Finch. Golden Garter, Golden Dawn, 
Bassetlaw, Candlemas, Chevalier, Water Cress and 
Tenny. Salvator, whom Mr. Haggin has declared to be 
the greatest horse that he ever owned, has produced 
several good sons and daughters, among them Salvation, 
Sallie Woodford, Etta McKeever, The Preserver, Salvor, 
Silvester, Sallie Cliquot, Salvable, Silver II.. St. Aignan, 
and several others. Tyrant has been one of the Rancho 
del Paso's most reliable stallions. He was a superbly 
bred horse, by imported Great Tom out of a grand- 
daughter of Lexington. He was the best three-year old 
of his year, winning the Withers, the Belmont and the 
Stockton stakes and other races. In his pedigree are 
found such great names as Pocahontas, Martha Lynn, 
Alice Carneal, Cressida and Gamma. Tyrant has already 
sired many excellent performeis. 

A great Australian stallion came to the United States 
when Mr. Haggin imported Sir Modred, full-brother to 
imported Cheviot. His sire, Traducer, who was bred 
in England, was one of the best stallions that ever stood 
in New Zealand. From 1867 to 1881, Traducer got nine 
winners of the Canterbury Derby, the most important 



176 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



event in that country, including Cheviot and Sir Modred. 
In three of these years his get ran first, second and 
third, and, in two others, first and second. Idalia, dam 
of Sir Modred, was the Pocahontas of New Zealand — 
the queen of its stud. As a race horse Sir Modred was 
a great campaigner, and his produce have followed 
closely in his footsteps; their distinguishing feature is the 
uniformity with which they race and campaign. His pro- 
duce in six years won 823 races, valued at $728,063. 

Among the brood mares that have made their home at 
Rancho del Paso, Firenze, who was the greatest cup 
winner of her time, and easily ranked with the best of 
race horses whom she met. was easily first as a popular 
favorite, although several of her companions have been 
more distinguished as brood mares. Few of the mations 
of this stud farm have not been celebrated more or less 
for their exploits on the turf, and have also been success- 
ful producers. They have been of the bluest blooded 
equine families known to this country. There is Maud 
Hampton, dam of the two great race horses, Ban Fox 
and King Fox. She came from the Dixiana Stud, where 
$10,000 was paid for her. In 1887, she produced King 
Thomas, that celebrated $40,000 yearling. In the two 
succeeding years, respectively, she threw Silver King and 
Silver Fox, both by St. Blaise, and since then she has 
been bred to imported Sir Modred. Other matrons of 
the Rancho del Paso have been Carina, dam of St. Carlo; 
Flavina, dam of Flavia and Flattery and Mentmore Lass, 
all of whom came from the Nursery Stud. The famous 
race mare Aranza, by imported Bonnie Scotland out of 
Arizona by Lexington: Glidelia, also by imported Bonnie 
Scotland out of Waltz by Lexington; Peoria by imported 
Mortemer, and Prude by King Alfonso out of Marguerite 
by Lexington, were added to the Rancho del Paso stock 
from Mr. William Astor's Ferncliffe Stud in 1890. With 
them have been Plaything, dam of Tournament, who 
raced so brilliantly as a three-year old foi' the stable of 
Senator Geoi'ge Hearst; imported Agenoria, dam of 
Pontiac : Loulanier. dam of Kildeer. Katrine and Kaleide- 
scope: Letolay. dam of Cayuga, Uni'est and Utopian; 
that famous race mare. Miss Woodford, and many others. 
In i8qi, there were in the thoroughbred department of 
Rancho del Paso twelve stallions and nearly three hun- 
dred mares, many of the latter valued at fiom .So. 000 to 
$18,000 each. In 1897, the establishment had grown so 
that it then contained twelve impoited and seven Amer- 
ican stallions and a proportionately larger number of 
mares, and that year produced 1 30 yearlings. 

Senator Leland Sanford, althoLigh he was only a few 
years connected with the turf, held a prominent position 
among modern sportsmen. His Palo Alto establishment 
was one of the half a dozen great breeding places of the 
United States that stood in a class by themselves, far 
ahead of all others. The ranch, which comprised over 



1,400 acres, was devoted to the trotter, as well as to the 
rLinning horse. At the head of the thoroughbred de- 
partment stood the celebrated .stallion Monday. This 
grandson of Lexington was bred by Captain Moore, 
in 1864, and died at the Palo Alto in 1884. His sire was 
(Bolton, a son of Lexington out of Topaz by Glencoe. 
Colton was a successful racer, winning at two-mile heats 
from such horses as Joe Stoner, Rebel and Sherwood. 

It must not be overlooked that California became the 
home of the celebrated Ormonde, " the great horse of 
the century." That famous English thoroughbred had a 
varied, as well as a brilliant, career. His wonderful per- 
formances in England, especially his capture of the Derby, 
attracted the attention of turfmen in all parts of the 
world. We have already referred to his emigration to 
Argentine, where he failed of appreciation, and whither 
Mr. (Charles Reed journeyed in the vain effort to purchase 
him. Subsequently he was sold back to the land of his 
nativity, but did not remain there long. American turf- 
men still had their eye upon him, and in 1893, Mr. W. 
OB. Macdonough purchased him. He was brought to 
the United States in iSq^, and for a few days after his 
arrival here was kept in New Jersey. Afterward trans- 
ferred to California, he became an inmate of the stud at 
the Menlow Park Stock Farm of Mr. Macdonough. His 
potency as a stallion did not come up to expectations. 

Among other California turfmen who have been par- 
ticularly active in recent times has been Mr. Adolph B. 
Spreckles, who was at one time president of the Pacific 
Coast Jockey Club. Mr. Spreckles late in the nineties 
organized a breeding stud, sitLiated near Napa, in the 
centre of the beautiful Napa Valley. There upon a farm 
of some 3S0 acres, he located a very important stud. 
His premier stallion was imported Idalium, and associated 
with him were General Miles, Puryear D. and imported 
Creighton. Imported Idalium, who was one of those 
Australian horses such as Californians have so much 
favored in recent years, was a full brother to Sir Modred 
and Cheviot. 

The Santa Anita breeding ranch of Mr. E. J. Baldwin 
is also one of the well known breeding establishments in 
California. Located at Los Angeles, the Santa Anita has 
had the reputation of being one of the finest and best 
equipped stud faims in the country. Like a few other 
notable turfmen of this period, Mr. Baldwin has always 
adhered to the practice of breeding his own horses for 
his racing stable. The representatives of Santa Anita 
have been infrequently seen in auction sales, and even 
at private sale their owner has rarely ever parted with 
them. Among the best possessions of Mr. Baldwin in 
years gone by have been Grinstead, Mollie McCarthy, 
Clara 1).. Volante. Lucky B., Mollie McCarthy's Last. 
Los Angeles, Emperor of Norfolk, Rey El Santa Anita 
and others. 



177 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




178 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Started in iNqo, the Bitter Root Stock Farm of Mr. Mar- 
cus Daly, located at Hamilton, Ravalli County, Montana, 
has become famous as one of the most extensive and most 
successful enterprises of its kind in the United States. 
Located at the foot of the Bitter Root range of moun- 
tains, from which it derives its name, the farm is an 
ideal thoroughbred nursery. The first suggestion of the 
place came to its owner far back in the sixties, when he 
was journeying in that unexplored region of the North- 
west at the head of a relief party. It required many 
years before — in business enterprises, to which he was 
giving his undivided attention — he had amassed that 
fortune which enabled him to carry out the idea that was 
born in his youth. Having achieved unexampled suc- 
cess, particularly in connection with copper mining 
from whence came his name of "the copper king," Mr. 
Daly has been able to accomplish his purposes m regard 
to breeding the thoroughbred upon an almost unlimited 



from his connection with the running turl, has also 
given attention to the trotting horse and his collection of 
trotters, both for breeding and racing, is only second to 
his collection of thoroughbred stock. 

Of most consequence to us, howevei, in this connec- 
tion is the thoroughbred department of the establish- 
ment. This comprises some i,=;oo acres, sloping back 
gradually to the foot of the Bitter Root mountain range. 
The Hamilton Ranch, as it is called, famoLis as the home 
of Tammany, Montana, Senator Grady and other blood 
horses who have contributed to make the turf history of 
this generation notable, has been laid out upon an 
elaborate scale. It contains a large house for the accom- 
modation of the men employed there, four barns or 
stables for work horses, a grainery and several resi- 
dences. Upon this ranch is raised the bulk of the hay 
that is required for the stock on the farm, something 
over 2,000 tons being the annual t]gure. Here also is the 



scale of expense. In its extent and in the perfection of lamous covered half-mile race course, while adjoining 

its appointments the Bitter Root establishment has no it is an open mile track. 

superior in this country, and perhaps not in the world. Upon the running ranch are the thoroughbred stables 

Altogether the property covers 20,000 acres in one and the residence of Sam Lucas, who has special charge 

piece and represents a total investment of $2,000,000, of of the breeding and raising of the thoroughbreds. The 

which $150,000 has been spent in laying out irrigating year's crop of youngsters is regularly fifty or more in 



ditches, and a six-mile system of ten-inch water mains. 
The farm consists of a series of ranches extending along 
the east side of a beautiful valley and opposite the town 
of Hamilton. No more magnificent or highly-cultivated 
collection of ranches can be found anywhere in the West. 
Fine residences, large stables and barns, extensive grass 
lands and a thorough system of irrigation combine to 
make this one of the world's great ranches. It is the 
seat of operations of a sound and well conducted 
enterprise that has grown steadily in importance and 
public favor, and has so broadened in its scope that it 
would be extremely hazardous for any one to venture to 
put a limit to its possibilities in the future. 

Mr. Daly makes his home upon this beautiful estate, 
and, upon that portion of it known as the Home Ranch, 
has erected a country mansion that has been described as 
"undoubtedly the largest and finest in the State." Here 
he spends a great deal 01 time when he can get away 
from his large business interests in the great Anaconda 
mining properties. The gardens in connection with the 
home farm are on an extensive scale. They contain hot- 
beds and greenhouses, and, under the management of 
H. A. Carmichael, results have been accomplished that 
may seem almost incredible to those who are not familiar 
with the phenomenal productivity of the West. In con- 
nection with the Home Ranch is the breeding stable for 
trotters, which contains stalls for three hundred horses 
and a three-quarter mile track for training. David Peel 
has charge of the breeding and D. B. Kinney of the 
training of the trotters. Mr. Daly, although best known 



number. Adjoinmg the running ranch is the veterinary 
hospital, in charge of Dr. E. W. Hagvard. whose resi- 
dence is nearby. In the same neighborhood are the 
ranches devoted to raising grain. The crop of oats 
annually exceeds 60,000 bushels and this product is made 
a specialty of the establishment, the quality of the oats 
being so high that Mr. Daly will use none other. Even 
when his horses are in the East, during the racing sea- 
son, he takes great quantities of this feed wherever his 
stable is sent. A magnificent avenue, eighty feet wide 
and six miles long, running due north and south, con- 
nects these ranches. The road is well built, with run- 
ning water on each side, and is lined by two rows 01 
trees so as to make a beautiful shady drive. 

The connection of Mr. Daly with the running turf is 
comparatively recent, extending back over less than a 
decade. It is not too much to say, however, that, by 
his liberality and enterprise and his clear foresight, no 
other single individual has contributed more to the 
contemporaneous development of the American turf 
Planned on a large scale and managed intelligently, the 
Bitter Root Stock Farm has had a powerful intluence 
the value of which it would be well nigh impossible 
to exaggerate. From the very first Mr. Daly, in addition 
to the careful oversight which he has himself bestowed 
upon this, his pet enterprise, has enlisted the services of 
so ne of the best men in their calling in this country. J. 
Moran. who was for years identified with the late I). 1). 
Withers, of the Brookdale Farm, has been one of his 
assistants, while Matthew Byrnes, one of America's fore- 



179 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




180 



THE AMF.RICAN TURF 



most trainers, has also been identified with him. Sam 
Lucas, who has charge of the breeding department, was 
for a long time in the employ of the late August Bel- 
mont. 

When at the Haggin sale, in i88g, Mr. Daly purchased 
Silver Fox he practically started upon his career as a turf 
man. He paid $22,000 for that colt, who was by im- 
ported St. Blaise out of Maud Hampton by Hunter's 
Lexington, and was a half-brother of King Fox, Ban Fox 
and King Thomas. At the same sale he paid $1,050 for 
the Darebin-Angenona colt. At the Rancho del Paso 
sale in 1890 he purchased twelve head, for which he paid 
$31,500, being the largest individual buyer on that oc- 
casion. The highest price he paid for any of this lot 
was $7,000 for the chestnut colt by St. Blaise out of Maud. 
At the dispersal sale of the Nursery Stud in 1891 he was 
a still larger purchaser, investing $44,000. His purchases 
included the mares Affinity, Belinda, Clara, Mehallah, 
Peeress and Wood Violet, who, with Amazon, formed 
the nucleus of his stud. 

Some of the most famous horses known to the Amer- 
ican turf in the last decade have come from the Bitter 
Root Stock Farm and frequently have carried the copper 
jacket and green cap of Mr. Daly to success, although 
his stable has not always been as triumphantas his enter- 
prise and his service to the cause of racing have merited. 
Eastern racegoers first became familiar with the colors 
of " the copper king " when Montana made his appear- 
ance on metropolitan tracks in the Carteret Handicap, 
three-quarters of a mile, at Monmouth Park. Upon that 
occasion he carried 1 10 lbs. and defeated Russell, Cor- 
rection, Contribution, Bermuda and others, in 1 minute, 
\2l'i seconds. In the famous record-breaking mile 
against time by Salvator in 1 minute, 55^ seconds, it 
was Namonia out of La Favorita by imported Glenelg, 
that made the pace, together with the three-year old 
filly Rosette by Joe Hooker out of Rosa B. by Norfolk. 
Namonia set the pace for the first half mile. Then Mon- 
tana rendered further service to his owner by capturing 
the Lorillard Stakes and the Suburban Handicap. 

Ogden has been a distinguished colt and his success 
in winning the Futurity of 1896 was especially gratifying 
to his owner from the fact that he was home bred, a 
son of Kilwarlin and imported Oriole. He not only 
brought glory to the Daly stable by winning the Futurity, 
but gained additional distinction by lowering the Futur 
ity record a full second. Another good winner bred by 
Mr. Daly has been Senator Bland, who, as a three-year 
old, won the Farewell Handicap at San Francisco, i'/( 
miles, defeating Yankee Doodle, Rey del Bandiodos and 
eight others, and establishing the Pacific Coast record at 
2 minutes, 7 seconds. Scottish Chieftain, foaled in 1894 
by imported Inverness out of Miss Darebin, has been 
another one of Mr. Daly's strong colts. He won brackets 



the second time out at the Gravesend track. As a two- 
year old he won the Spring Stakes over the Futurity 
Course, carrying 113 lbs., covering the distance in i 
minute, 13I seconds, and defeating Arbuckle and others. 
Then he won the June Stakes, also over the Futurity 
Course, carrying 121 lbs., and covering the distance in i 
minute, 12'i seconds, defeating Rodemonde, Casseopia, 
Arbuckle and Cauldron. His most notable victory, was 
in the Belmont Stakes, I'a miles, at Morris Park, when 
he defeated On Deck, Octagon, Horoscope, Don de Oro 
and Ogden, the time — 2 minutes, 23^ seconds — being 
the best made over the course up to that time. 

Perhaps the most popular horse that has carried the 
Daly colors is Tammany, whose splendid victory in the 
Realization of 1892, when he defe.ited the strongest field 
of rivals, will not soon be forgotten. Tammany came 
honestly by his marvelous qualities of speed and 
endurance, for he is the son of Iroquois, the brilliant 
American winner of the Derby, through whose sire 
and dam, imported Leamington, and Maggie B. B., he 
united strains of the most powerful blood ever known to 
the American turf the Leamington, Australian, Boston 
and Glencoe. The dam of Tammany was Tullahoma, 
who was a daughter of imported Great Tom and Blink 
Bonnv. Tammany, who is a handsome chestnut horse, 
was foaled in 1889 and bred at Belle Meade, in Tennes- 
see. His first appearance was as a two-year old, when 
he ran in the Great Eclipse Stakes at Morris P.irk, beating 
Sir Matthew and other good ones. He also won the 
Criterion Stakes at Monmouth Park, but was beaten in 
the Futurity, and ran third in the Select St.ikes. 

During the season he started in six races and his win- 
nings amounted to $29,720. In his three-year old form 
he started five times, winning the Withers, the Realiza- 
tion, the Lorillard and the Jerome Stakes and running 
second for the Tidal Stakes. His winnings that year 
amounted to $72,410. His winning of the Realization 
placed him in the first class, and his other victories that 
year sufficed to more fully establish his reputation. In 
1893, he was started only three times, but won upon 
each occasion His great achievement that year was his 
defeat of Lamplighter, at Guttenberg. His winnings in 
18 3 amounted to $13,500, and he was then retired with 
a total of $1 1 5,690 to his credit. In the stud he has been 
very successful. Among his get have been Tammany 
Hall II. out of Imported La Trappe; Senator Matts out 
of imported Buttermere; Tempse out of imported 
Tempe; Colonel Root out of imported Namesake: 
Tamor out of imported Oriole; Ash Leaf out of imported 
Ayrshire Rose; Ternary out of imported Ladyjudette; 
Greenback II. out of Clara; Affiant out of Affinity; 
Croker out of Belinda; Crutch out of Beaucatcher; 
Grand Sachem out of Belinda; Lord Beresford out of 
imported Erin-go-Bragh; Amazonian out of Amazon; 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



i I 




182 



'ITIE AMERICAN TURF 



Rnv:illi out of imported L:i Tr.ippe; Maiozia out oi 
Merry Peeress, and Barracan out of imported Barca- 
mere. 

A double glory came to the Dalv Stable in i8y2, for 
not only did Tammany win the Realization, but Mon- 
tana carried off that great prize, the Suburban. Montana 
was foaled in i88<S and bred by Mr. J. B. Haggin, at the 
Rancho del Paso. He is a son of Ban Fox and imported 
Queen. His sire, son of King Ban and grandson of King 
Tom, belonged to one of the greatest modern thorough- 
bred families. Through his great grandam, Atlantis, he 
was descended from the Derby winner, Thormanby, and 
from Alice Hawthorne and Melbourne. Through his 
grandam. Maud Hampton, he traced on one side to Lex- 
ington and imported Glencoe, and on the other to iiash 
Biidcatcher and also thi'ough another line to Glencoe. 
Queen, dam of Montan.i. was bv Scottish Chief out 
of Gertrude. 

When Montana was brought out. in 1S90, his llrst 
start was in the Carteret Handicap. His two other 
races of that year were the Futurity, in which he was a 
good fourth, and the Great Eastern Handicap, in 
which he was tifth. Wonderful things were expected 
of him as a three-year old. but his career that season 
was a disappointment. Although he went to the 
post nine times, he won only one race, the Lorillard 
Stakes. In the Withers, he finished second to Pick- 
nicker; in the Belmont was beaten by Foxford; was un- 
placed in the Thistle Stakes and the Omnibus: was sec- 
ond to Potomac in the Realization; was last in the 
Second Special and last, but one, in the Hickory Stakes. 
Besides the Suburban in 1892, he won the Comparative 
Stakes and the Labor Day Handicap. 

Many other horses that have attained to distinction in 
this generation have borne the Daly colors. Prominent 
among them have been Senator Grady, Brown Fox, who 
won the Carnival Stakes at St. Paul, Minn., in 1890, 
Bathampton, Hamburg and Tammany Hall II. The 
horse, last named, was a prominent candidate for the 
Futurity of 1897, and was considered to be quite in that 
class, taking a place in popular estimation that had once 
been occupied by his distinguished sire. The Bitter Root 
Stock Farm has also sent out many colts that have done 
creditable work and that have reflected honor upon their 
place of birth. There was another son of Tammany. 
Grand Sachem out of Belinda, who was considered to be 
a formidable candidate for the Futurity, and other good 
product of the Farm have been Inverary II., Ben Nevis, 
Amazonian, Bitter Root, Ternary, Afghan, Barracan, 
Friar, Sam Lucas and Tullamore. Nor would the list 
end here had we room to make it comprehensive. 

In all turf affairs in the far West during the present 
period Mr. Daly has been a conspicuous figure. The extent 
to which racing has increased in that section of the 

I S3 



country in recent years is almost unparalleled and is 
scarcely comprehensible to those who have not given 
careful consideration to this particular feature in the 
modern development of the American turf Numerous 
race cour.ses have been constructed, several of them of a 
very superior character. They have been laid out upon 
a large scale and have been munificently equipped by a 
generous and intelligent expenditure of money, so that 
in the excellence of their appointments they compare 
favorably with those in any other part of the country. 
Meetings 01 importance are held throughout the entire 
season, and such has been the increase in breeding and 
in the number of enterprising turfmen in those parts, 
that the courses are supplied with good equine perform- 
ers, almost without consideration as to what may be 
going on at the headquarters of racing, either in the 
North or the South. The annual meetings that are held 
at Butte and elsewhere have been more than ordinarily 
successful, not alone financially, but also Irom the fact 
that they have shown first-class racing conducted in an 
upright, enterpiising manner. 

In all this extraordinary turf activity, Mr. Daly has 
played an important and influential part. His Bitter 
Root Stock Farm has contributed in many wavs to 
magnify the racing spirit of that section and to make it 
possible to build up racing affairs there. Nor has his 
healthful and stimulating influence been in any respect 
confined to the West. His stables have added to the 
brilliancy of the great race meetings in the vicinity of 
New York and in other parts of the country, and his 
colors have been among the most popular in these 
modern times. By his liberality in everything that 
relates to the turf by his notable enterprise and by his 
sound good judgment, he has become one of the most 
important factors in modern racing in the United States, 
Bv his purchase of Hamburg, the best two-year old 
of 1897, he added further to the importance of his stable 
and his own position in the racing world. For the 
season of 1898, those of Mr. Daly's horses that are 
running on the Eastern track are trained by Mr. William 
Lakeland. They include those famous champions, 
Hamburg and Ogden, and also Isidorby Amphion out of 
Isis, Kilefoot by Buchanan out of Longshore, and the 
promising two-year olds. Uam Var and Larva by 
imported Inverness, Ilithyia and Croker by Tammany, 
Redcoat by Montana and Gold Car by Goldfinch. A true 
sportsman in every sense of the word. Mi'. Daly's in- 
fluence in racing affairs has been healthful, and through 
his energy and public spirit, he has stimulated in many 
others a liking for and activity in the sport. He will 
occupy a large place in the history of the modern Amer- 
ican turf, and will share with other gentlemen sports- 
men of abundant means the credit of the contempora- 
neous revival of interest in the thoroughbred. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




184 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




185 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




iS6 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




187 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




1 88 



THE AMKRICAX TURF 



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UJ 
Q. 
CL 
UJ 
Q. 

UJ 

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189 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




190 



THE AiMl'lRICAN -riikl- 




191 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




192 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



From a consideratioi 
Montana and Ot^den, t 

eye, we make the acqu ui other inmates of the 

Bitter Root Stud who have performed useful parts in re- 
plenishing the rani<s of American race horses. First 
among the stallions who are companions of Tammany is 
imported Inverness, who was foaled in i8S8, son of 
Cymbal and Belle of Scotland. His sire was by Kettle- 
drum out of Nellie Hill. Kettledrum, on the side of his 
sire Rataplan, was descended from The Baron, Bird- 
catcher, Glencoe, Sir Hercules and Sultan. Hybia, the 
dam of Kettledrum, was a daughter of The Provost and 
Otesina and was descended from Lottery, Tramp, 
Whisker and Bustard. Nellie Hill, the dam of Cymbal, 
was by Springy Jack out of Anne Page, daughter of 
Touchstone and Isabel by Pantaloon. On the side of his 
dam imported Inverness is also highly bred, Belle of Scot- 
land being by Blair Athol out of Theresa. Through 
Blair Athol, son of Stockwelland Blink Bonny, Inverness 
had another cross of Birdcatcher and Glencoe blood and 
also inherited strains of Melbourne. Gladiator and Pleni- 
potentiary. Theresa, the dam of Belle of Scotland, was 
a daughter of Touchstone and Olga, her dam being by 
Charles XII. out of Fair Helen. 

Inverness was successful as a racehorse, taking several 
plates and purses in his two-year old form. He was 
started in eight races and, although he was not in very 
good form when the season began, was five times a 
winner, second once, third once and unplaced once. In 
his first race he ran third to Windlass and Dorothy Ver- 
non for the Ashley Plate, and in his second ran unplaced 
to Lady Clare in the Walton two-year old race. Ne.xt 
he won the Newmarket two-year old plate and the Dyke 
plate at Newmarket and at the Epsom summer meeting 
in June ran second to Bumptious for the Stanley Stakes. 
At the Derby September meeting he won the Devonshire 
Nursery Handicap, fs of a mile, carrying top weight, 125 
pounds, and beating eighteen others. At Newmarket 
he walked over for the Double Trial Plate in September, 
and at the same meeting won the Severals Plate. He 
has shown undoubted merit as a sire, his get being large 
and fine-looking and possessed of great speed. Senator 
Bland, one of the first of his get, has held the Pacific 
Coast record for.a mile and a quarter — 2 minutes, 7 sec- 
onds, besides winning other good races and beating 
high class horses of all ages. Inverness is also the sire 
of Scottish Chieftain. Others of his get have been Ben 
Nevis out of Flirt, Scotch Pirate and Illumine out of Wy- 
oming, Sword Dance out of Slow Dance, Highbinder out 
of Homeless, Punter out of Lottery, and MarvelloLis and 
Monda out of Mascot. 

Imported Bathampton ranks in importance with the 
other stallions of the Bitter Root Stock Farm. A bay 
colt, foaled in 1891, he was purchased at auction as a 



es, such as Tammany, yearling by Mr. Daly for 8so guineas. He is a horse of 
en most in the public lofty lineage, being a son of Hampton and The Bat. His 
sire, by Lord Clifden out of Lady Langden, was one of 
the most distmguished horses known to the Hnglish 
turf, and, through both of his parents, traces to the 
Touchstone, Melbourne, Birdcatcher, Blacklock and 
other great English families. The Bat, dam of Bath- 
ampton, was by Hermit out of Cicely Hackett. Hermit, 
it is well known, was, on the one side of the Touch- 
stone family through his sire Newminster, and 
on the other through his dam Seclusion, descended 
from Tadmor and further back from Bay Middleton. 
Cicely Hackett was by Le Marechal out of Meg of Mar- 
ley. Le Marechal by Monarque out of Lady Lift was 
descended from Sir Hercules. Meg of Marley was a 
daughter of Mandricardo and Miss Tennyson. Man- 
dricardo was a grandson of Touchstone, through his 
sire Orlando. 

After his purchases from the Haggin and the Belmont 
sales, Mr Daly became a somewhat less frequent buyer 
of homebred stock. He turned his attention toward the 
famous English racing families, being firmly convinced 
of the value of reinforcing the American blood from those 
quarters. While in nowise disposed to underrate the 
potency of American strains, he pursued the subject 
of breeding with scientific ardor, and felt the necessity 
of a new departure. The fashion of importing stallions 
from abroad long ago became fully established among 
all bleeders, but somewhat less attention has been paid 
to imported mares. A few bleeders have, from time to 
time, recognized the value that might be derived from 
such operations and have considerably profited thereby. 
Mr. Daly, believing that the English brood mare gave 
promise of quite as much usefulness in her way, when 
brought to this country, as her companions of the other 
se.x, has made, perhaps, as extensive and important 
purchases of English bred mares as any proprietor of an 
American breeding establishment that has ever lived. 
His selections have always been made with remarkable 
acuteness and judgment. 

A more notable collection of mares than that which 
he has gathered at Bitter Root has seldom, if ever, been 
seen in the United States. Among the famous sires 
represented by these mares have been Hampton, Bar- 
caldine, Doncaster, Merry Hampton. Saraban, St. Blaise, 
Kyrle Daly, Darebin, Hyder Ali, Glenelg, The Ill-Used 
and Inverness. The homebred sires represented have 
included Luke Blackburn, Uncas, Salvator, Montana, 
Tammany, Alarm, Longfellow and others. The selec- 
tion of these mares, whether of foreign or native birth, 
has always been made with special regard to strong 
winning lines, and the success of this plan has been fully 
demonstrated many times by the noted winners who 
have come from Mr. Daly's establishment. Some of 



193 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




194 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



these m;ires are fully described on succeeding pages in 
connection with a collection of their portraits. 

Other inatrons connected with Mr. Daly's establish- 
ment, most of them from its earliest days, are also enti- 
tled to recognition as well as those whom we soon 
shall have occasion to speak of more fully. Among 
these is imported Countess Therrv, a chestnut mare who 
was foaled in i88s. and bred by Mr. J.W. .Smith, of Hng- 
land. She came of the most fashionable blood, being on 
the side of her sire, Barcaldine, descended from the Mel- 
bourne, Touchstone, Birdcatcher. Stockwell and New- 
minster families. Her dam. Miss Edith, gave her strains 
of Stockwell, Touchstone and Glencoe, while she also 
traces to Whisker, Pipator, Matchem and D'Arcy's black- 
legged royal mare. To the cover of Hampton in 1894 
she produced the bay filly Maid of Avenel and in 1895, 
by Sheen, the bay filly Corinna. Another Barcaldine 
mare is imported Barcameer out of imported Butter- 
mere. In 189s, she produced to the cover of Tammany 
the brown filly Barracan. 

A mare from the great Hampton family that Mr. Daly 
acquired in 1892, when she was a yearling, is imported 
Merry Peeress, originally named Dressmaker. She is 
a daughter of Merry Hampton by Hampton out of Doll 
Tearsheet. Her dam was Mistress of the Robes by 
Queen's Messenger out of Duchess of Sutherland, 
i'hrough both his sire and his dam, Queen's Messenger 
had strains of Touchstone. The Duchess of Sutherland 
was by Faugh-a-Ballagh, the sire of the great Leaming- 
ton. Her dam Laundry Maid was by Wintonian out of 
a sister to Laundress. Through Faugh-a-Ballagh, Merry 
Peeress had the blood of Whalebone, and also had the 
same strain through Laundry Maid and her sire Win- 
tonian, who was by Camel, by Whalebone. The tenth 
dam of Merry Peeress was Vanessa by Regulus. in 1895, 
Merry Peeress threw to Tammany the bay filly Marozia. 
Imported Balsam Fir, dam of the bay colt Balista by Sam 
Lucas, comes of the most fashionable blood of England, 
and few mares ever imported into this country could 
boast of more royal lineage. She is by imported Friar's 
Balsam out of imported Tempe, whose first tbal she was. 
She has four strains of Touchstone, two of Birdcatcher, 
one of Melbourne, one of Blacklock, one of Pantaloon, 
twelve of Orville, four of Emilius, two of Partisan and 
one each of Melbourne, Pantaloon, Queen Mary and 
Glencoe. 

Then there is imported Crisis by imported Fernandes, 
out of imported Isis. Her sire was by Sterling out of 
Isola Bella, the latter tracing on the side of her sire, 
Stockwell, to Birdcatcher and Glencoe and on the side 
of her dam, Isoline, to Faugh-a-Ballagh and Sir Hercules. 
Sterling, son of Oxford and Whisper, was of the line of 
Birdcatcher, Emilius, Touchstone and Melbourne. Mag- 
nificat, another of Mr. Daly's best imported mares, 



is by Galliard, out of Miserere, and has four strains 
each of Birdcatcher and Banter, five strains of Voltaire, 
six strains of Sultan, eleven strains of Blacklock, two 
strains each of Voltigeur, Touchstone, Pantaloon. Martha 
Lynn and Langar. three strains of Bay Middleton and 
one strain each of Flying Dutchman, Newminster, Stock- 
well and Pocahontas. Sightseer is another fashionably 
bred mare that Mr. Daly imported. She is by Kendall 
out of Lorgnette, Kendall being by Bend Or out of 
Windermere. The principal strains of blood in Sightseer 
are twelve of Orville. seven each of Blaclilock and Banter, 
six of Touchstone, four each of Birdcatcher and Pantaloon 
and two each of Stockwell, Thormanby and Orlando. 
Maid of Avenel by Hampton out of Countess Therry; 
Peep Sight by Prison out of imported Lorgnette; Samara 
by Saraband out of imported Sacrifice; Boise by Hamp- 
ton out of imported Buttermere are among the other 
imported matrons of the farm. 

The home bred matrons of Bitter Root Stud Farm 
have been not less admired than their foreign sisters. 
The principal ones will be elsewhere fully described, but 
some others deserve at least passing mention. There is 
Bandana by imported Darebin out of Bessie Peyton, 
who traces to Touchstone on the one side and to Lex- 
ington on the other, in 1894, she produced to Tam- 
many the chestnut filly, Tiger Cat. Mascot, the dam of 
the bay filly Malpaquet by Hyder Ali, the chestnut filly 
Marvellous by imported Inverness and the bay colt 
Monda by imported Inverness, is by imported Glenelg 
out of Mignon. Through Glenelg she has the Stockwell 
and Melbourne blood, and through Mignon, who was a 
daughter of Enquirer and Magnetta, she traces to Leam- 
ington, Lexington, Sovereign and Sir Charles blood. 
Palfiena, the dam of Protest II. and Poppinjay, both by 
Inverness, Palfurni by Montana and Pallucus by Sam 
Lucas, is a daughter of Hyder Ali and Pandora, tracing 
to Leamington and Lexington throLigh her sire and to 
Australian, Lexington and Melbourne through her dam. 

Wood Violet, a full sister to Forester. Woodtlower. 
Woodcraft and Forest King, has been one of the most 
distinguished mares on Mr. Daly's ranch. A chestnut, 
she was foaled in 1885 and bred by Mr. August Belmont. 
Her sire was imported The Ill-Used, and her dam was 
Woodbine by Censor or Kentucky out of imported 
Fleur de Champs. She has the. Birdcatcher, Melbourne, 
Sir Hercules and Touchstone strains, and also derives 
from the immortal Lexington and imported Glencoe. 
While she was the property of Mr. Belmont she was 
covered by St. Blaise and produced the chestnut filly. 
Pansy, the chestnut colt, St. Jacob, and the chestnut 
colt, Primrose. The best known of her get has been 
Senator Bland, the chestnut colt by imported Inverness. 
He was foaled in 1891. She is also, by Inverness, the 
dam of the chestnLit filly. Sweet Violet, foaled in 1894. 



■95 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Imported Matt Byrnes, a brown colt, was foaled in 
1891. His sire was Hampton, son of Lord Ciifden and 




MATT BYRNES (imported) 

Lady Langden. Through Lord Ciifden he traces to New- 
minster, Touchstone, Melbourne, Voltaire and the great 
English families that they represented, among his other an- 
cestors in this line being Camel, Humphrey Clinker. Whale- 
bone, Selim, Beningbrough, Black- 
lock and Comus. Lady Langden, 
the dam of Hampton, was by Ket- 
tledrum out of Haricot, Kettledrum 
being a son of Rataplan and Hybla 
and Haricot a son of Lanercost 
and Queen Mary. Through Lady 
Langden, imported Matt Byrnes 
has the blood of Pocahontas. Glen- 
coe. Tramp, Whisker, Bustard, 
Plenipotentiary, Gladiator and 
others. Cherry, the dam of Matt 
Byrnes, was by Sterling out of 
Cherry Duchess, her sire being by 
Oxford out of Whisper and her 
dam by The Duke out of Mirella. 
Through Sterling, Cherry traced to 
Birdcatcher. Flatcatcher, Sir Her- 
cules, Guiccioli, Whalebone, Plen- 
ipotentiary, Melbourne, Emilius, 
Bay Middleton and Touchstone. 
In the dam of Cherry tlowed the 
blood of Stockwell, Pocahontas, 

The Baron, Whalebone, Sir Hercules, West Australian 
Orlando and the great families that they represented 



Through his grandams Matt Byrnes is descended from 

Woful, Waxy, Sweetbriar, Babraham, Golden Ball, 

Hampton's Court Childers and Lord 

n Halifax' Bushy Molly by the chestnut 

Litton Arabian. 

Primrose, a chestnut colt, foaled in 
1892, came to Mr. Daly out of the 
mare Wood Violet, whom he pur- 
chased from the Nursery Stud sale. 
The sire of Primi'ose was imported St. 
Blaise, the famous son of Hermit and 
Fusee. So much has been said of St. 
Blaise in this volume that his pedigree 
need not be dwelt upon in detail here, 
save to say that none richer appears 
in the Stud Book. Through Hermit 
he ti'aces to Touchstone, Tadmor, 
Whalebone. Waxy, Trumpator, Sul- 
tan. Selim, Bay Middleton and Black- 
lock. Through Fusee he has the 
blood of Gladiator, Touchstone, Whis- 
ker, Sir Hercules, Camel, Waxy, Pot- 
8-os and Emilius. Wood Violet was by 
imported The Ill-Used out of Wood- 
bine. The pedigree of The Ill-Used 
is also a matter of common knowledge, he being the son 
of Breadalbane and Ellermire. Through his grandam, 
Woodbine, Primrose has the best American blood. 
Woodbine being a daughter of Censor or Kentucky and 




PRIMROSE 



tracing to Lexington, and to Magnolia by imported 
Glencoe out of imported Myrtle. 



196 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



One of the earliest and one of the best of Mr. Daly's 
importations was Isis, a chestnut mare, foaled in 18.S7. 
and bred by the Duke of West- 
minster. She was by Bend D'Or 
out ot Shotover. Through Don- 
caster, the sire of Bend D'Or, 
she descended from Stock- 
well, Pocahontas, Glencoe, Or- 
lando and Melbourne. The dam 
of Bend D'Or, as is well known, 
was Rouge Rose, daughter of 
Thormanby, the Derby winner, 
and Ellen Home. Through 
Thormanby, the blood of that 
great English racing tilly, Alice 
Hawthorne, was transmitted to 
Isis. Ellen Home was by Red 
Shank out of Delphi. Shotover, 
the dam of Isis, was by Hermit, 
son of Newminster and Seclu- 
sion, while her dam. Stray Shot, 
was by Toxophilite out of Vaga. 
Newminster was the son of 
Touchstone and grandson of 
Camel; Seclusion, a daughter of 

Tadmor and Miss Sellon; Toxophilite, a daughter of 
Longbow and Legerdemain; and Vaga, a daughter of 
Stockwell and Mendicant. On the line of her dams. Isis 
traces to Bustard, Eclipse, Herod, Regulus, D'Arcy's 



Israel by C.alliard; 
the chestULit colt 



the bay filly Crisis by Fernandez; 
impoitcd Isidor bv Ampliion; the 




ISIS (.IMPORTEDl AND ILITHYIA 



and the 




chestnut tllly imported Sistrum by Common; 

chestnut (illy llithyia by Tammany. 

Imported La Trappe has had a successful career in the 

stud, both in this country and in Europe. A bay mare, 
she was foaled in 1881, the 
daughter of Hermit, son of 
Newminster and Seclusion. Her 
dam was Ambuscade, daughter 
of Camerinoand Crossfire. Cam- 
erino was by Stockwell, son of 
The Baron and Pocahontas, 
while his dam. Sylphine. was by 
Touchstone out of Mountain 
Sylph. Crossfire, the grandam 
of La Trappe, was by Vedette 
out of Crosslanes, her sire being 
by Voltigeur, son of Voltaire 
and Martha Lynn. In England, 
La Trappe was covered by Ison- 
omy. Barcaldine and Apollo, pro- 
ducing Nomion, Bai'mecide and 
Celibacy. In this country her 
produce has been the bay colt 
Friar by Ayershire, the bay filly 
Mother Superior by Hyder Ali, 
the bay colt Trappean by In- 
verness, the chestnut colt Fort 

Augustus by imported Inverness, and the bay colt 



LA TRAPPE UMPORTEDl 

White Turk and a royal mare. Among the pi'oduce 01 

Isis have been the filly Isiac by Roseberry; the bay colt Tammany Hall II. by Tammany. 

197 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



In imported Erin-Go-Bnigh is combined tiie blood of 
sevenil of tiie best Englisli equine families. This chest- 
nut mare, foaled in 1887, was 
bled by the Uuke of Westminster. 
She is the daughter of Barcaldine, 
who was by Solon out of Ballyroe. 
Solon was by West Australian out 
of Darling's dam, who was by 
Birdcatcher, son of Sir Hercules 
and Guiccioli. Through West 
Australian Erin-Go-Bragh was de- 
scended from Melbourne, Hum- 
phrey Clinker and Touchstone. 
Ballyroe, the dam of Barcaldine, 
was by Belladium out of Bon Ac- 
cord, Belladrum being a son of 
Stockwell and Catherine Hayes, 
while Bon Accord was the daugh- 
ter of Adventurer and Darling's 
dam. Farewell, the dam of Erin- 
Go-Bragh, was by Doncaster out 
of Lily Agnes. Through Doncaster 
the line of descent was from 
Stockwell, The Baron, Birdcatcher. 
Pocahontas, Glencoe, Marigold, 

Teddington, Orlando, Melbourne and Ratan. Lily 
Agnes was by Macaroni out of Polly Agnes, her dam 
being a granddaughter, through her dam, of Birdcatcher 
and of Agnes, by Clarion. Erin-Go-Bragh also traces to 



1891, the bay filly imported Lady Judette; by Child of 
the Mist, in 1892, the chestnut colt Sleeping Child and 




ERIN-QO-BRAGH (imported^ 

by Tammany, in 189s, the chestnut colt Lord Beresford. 
From the establishment of Mr. Carew Gibson in Eng- 
land came the bay mare imported Red Spinner, who 
was foaled in 1870. She was by Rosicrucian out of Re- 
action. Her sire was a son of 
Beadsman and Madam Eglantine. 
Beadsman was by Weatherbit 
out of Mendicant, being of the 
line of Lottery, Priam, Touch- 
tone, Camel, Orville and 
Tramp. Madam Eglantine was 
by Cowl out of Diversion, her 
sire's pedigree tracing to Bay 
Middleton. Crucifl.x, Sultan and 
Priam, while the pedigree of her 
dam was through Defense and 
Folly to Whalebone and Middle- 
ton. Reaction, the dam of Red 
Spinner, was a daughter of King 
Tom and Waterwitch. Her dam 
was by Flying Dutchman out of 
Evening Star. In England Red 
Spinner prodiiced Lammerlaw 
by Lammermoor. and Spanish 
Fly by Don Juan. She was also 
the dam of Bill Gwinby Spring- 
field, imported by Mr. Daly. 
Priam, Don Juan, Pipator, Hambletonian and Young In this country she produced the bay filly Gwendolyn 
Marske. By Highland Chief, Erin-Go-Bragh produced, in to the cover of St. Simon. 

198 




RED SPINNER (imported) 



THE A]\FF.RICAN TURF 



Fo;iled in i88;, the brown jiiare imported Lorgnette 
was bred by Lord Rossiyn. She was by Speculum out of 




loaied in 1884. She is a daughter of Doncaster and 
Thorwater. Doncaster was by Stockwell out of Mari- 
gold, Stockwell being by The 
Baron, son oC Irish Birdcatcher 
and Bchidna, and out of Poca- 
hontas, daughter of (ilencoe and 
Marpessa. Marigold, through 
her sire, Teddington, traced to 
Orlando, son of Touchstone, and 
to Miss Twickingham, daughter 
of Rockingham. The dam of 
Marigold was a sister of Singa- 
pore and a daughter of Ratan, 
who was by Buzzard; her gran- 
dam was a daughterof Melbourne 
and Lisbeth; Thorwater, the dam 
of Buttermere, was by Thorman- 
by out of Fairwater. her dam 
being by Loup-garou out of The 
Bloomer, Loup-garou coming 
from the Lanercost and Moon- 
beam families and The Bloomer 
from the Melbourne, Velocipede 
and Tramp families. The sixth 
dam of Buttermere was by Bust- 
ard, and her seventh dam, Olympia by Sir Oliver. The 
produce of Buttermere has included the bay filly, Barca- 
meie, and the bay colt. Barbecue, both by Barcaldine; 
the bay colt, Butte, and the bav filly. Boise, both by 



LORGNETTE (imported) 

Miss Middlewick. Her sire was a son of Vedette, who 
was by Voltigeur out of Mrs. Ridgeway, while his dam 
Doralice, was by Alarm or Orlando out of Preserve, thus 
giving to him the blood of Touchstone, Vulture, Emilius 
and Mustard. Miss Middlewick, the dam of 
Lorgnette, was a daughter of Scottish Chief and 
Violet. Through Scottish Chief she derived 
from Lord of the isles, son of Touchstone and 
Fair Helen by Pantaloon out of Rebecca. Sister 
Ann, the dam of Scottish Chief, was by The 
Little Known out of Bay Missy, The Little 
Known being a son of Muley and Lacerta, and 
Bay Missy a daughter of Bay Middleton and 
Camilla. Violet, the dam of Miss Middlewick, 
was by Thormanby. her dam being Wuodbine 
by Stockwell out of Honeysuckle, who, a daugh- 
ter of Touchstone and Beeswing by Ur. Syntax, 
was a sister to Newminster. Other ancestors 
of Lorgnette were Ardrossan, Whitworth, 
Young Marske, Regulus, Lord Morton's Ara- 
bian, Mixbury, Bay Bolton, Coneyskins, Huttons 
grey barb, the Byerly Turk, Hutton's royal 
colt. Buster and the Helmsley Turk. The 
produce of Lorgnette have been the bay filly 
Sightseer by Kendal; the bay filly Peepsight 
by Prism; and the bay filly Common Sight bv 

p BUTTERMERE (imported) and SENATOR MATTS 

From the establishment of the Duke of Westminster Hampton: the bay colt, Bitter Root by Royal Hampton, 
came the bay mare imported Buttermere, who was and the chestnut colt, Senator Matts by Tammany. 

199 




THE AMERICAN TURF 



A fair winner on tiie turf, imported Irony, lias also a 
good record as a producer. A chestnut mare, she was 




IRONY (imported) 

foaled in 1881, being by Rosebery out of Sarcasm. Her 
sire was a son of Speculum by Vedette out of Doralice, 
and his dam was Ladylike by Nev/minster out of Zuleika. 
Through both his sire and his dam Rosebery was de- 
scended from Touchstone and Whalebone and among his 
other ancestors of note were 
Orlando, Voltiguer, Orville, 
Muley, Beningbrough, Bees- 
wing, Birdcatcher, Blacklock, 
Sir Hercules and Selim. The 
dam of Irony was by Breadal- 
bane, of the Stockwell and 
Blink Bonny families. Her 
dam was Jeu D'Esprit, daugh- 
ter of Flatcatcher and Extem- 
pore. Through Flycatcher Irony 
has another cross of Touch- 
stone and through Flatcatch- 
er's dam, Decoy, she traces 
to Filho - da - Puta, Haphazard 
and Peruvian. Extempore was 
a daughter of Emilius by Or- 
ville out of Emory, and her 
dam was Maria by Whisker 
out of Gibside Fairy. On the 
side of her dams Irony has the 
blood of Sir Peter Teazle, 

Matchem, Miss Slammerkin, and D'Arcy's black- 
legged royal mare. In England, Irony produced the bay 



colt Lamprey by Beauclerc. the chestnut colt Junius by 

Albert Victor and the brown filly Vampire by Gallopin, 

all of them being winners, and 

the last-named being purchased 

by the Duke of Westminster for 

Imported Close the Door, a 
bay mare, was foaled in 1887. 
She is by Wisdom, one of the 
best sires in England. Wisdom 
was a son of Blinkhoolie and 
Aline, his sire being by Rata- 
plan out of Qiieen Mary. Rata- 
plan was descended from Bird- 
catcher, Economist, Glencoeand 
Mulev, while Queen Mary traced 
to Gladiator, the son of Partisan 
and Pauline, to Plenipotentiary 
by Emilius and to Myrrha by 
Whalebone out of Gift. Through 
Aline, the dam of Wisdom, 
Close the Door traces in other 
lines to Birdcatcher, Economist, 
Glencoe and Muley, the sire of 
Aline being Stockwell by The 
Baron out of Pocahontas. Jeu D'Esprit, the dam of Aline, 
gave to her daughter the Touchstone and Emilius pedi- 
grees. The dam of Close the Door was Draughty, 
daughter of Exminster, who was the son of Neminster 
and Stockings. The produce of Close the Door have 




CLOSE THE DOOR (imported) 



included the chestnut colt Mistral II. by Florentine and 
the chestnut filly Open Doors by Tammany. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Purchased at Tattersall's Newmarket sale in 1892 for 
200 guineas, imported Miserere produced tiie filly Mag- 




MISERERE (imported; 

nificat by Galliard. and also the chestnut colt Missioner 
by the same sire. Miserere, who was foaled in 1887, 
a handsome chestnut mare, was by The Miser out of 
Pauline. Her sire was a son of Hermit and La Belle 
Helene. Through her grandsire, 
who was a son of Newminster 
and Seclusion, she traces to Touch- 
stone, Camel, Dr. Syntax, Tad- 
mor. Sultan, Bay Middleton and 
Crucifix. Through her grandam. 
La Belle Helene, daughter of St. 
Albans and Teterrima, she is de- 
scended from Stockwell, Bribery. 
Pantaloon, Voltigeur. Bay Middle- 
ton and Malek. On the side of her 
dam, Pauline, Miserere is quite as 
richly endowed as through her 
sire. Pauline was by Cock Robin 
out of Polly Plush, Cock Robin 
being a son of Chanticleer and 
Forlorn Hope, and Polly Plush a 
daughter of Orlando and Plush. 
Thus the famous Birdcatcher, 
Whalebone, Blacklock, Waxy. 
Touchstone, Selim, Emilius and 
other great English families gave 
to Miserere several crosses. 
On the side of her dams she traces to Trumpator, 
Highflyer, Snap, Bay Bolton, Darley's Arabian, the 



Byerly Turk, the Taffolet Baib, Place's White Turk 
and the natural Barb mare. 

Few brood mares ever im- 
ported into this country have 
had better blood than imported 
Petticoat, who was purchased 
privately at Newmarket by Mr. 
1 )aly for 450 guineas. A chest- 
nut mare foaled in 1888, her sire 
was Doncaster, a winner of the 
Derby, who was also the sire of 
Ben D'Or, another Derby winner, 
who, in turn, was the sire of 
Ormonde, the Derby winner and 
"the great horse of the cen- 
tury." Doncaster was a son of 
Stockwell, who was by The 
Baron out of Pocahontas and 
thus he had strains of the 
Whalebone, Whisker, Black- 
lock, Selim, Tramp and other 
,'',. noted families. Marigold, the 

'/'.,•''. dam of Doncaster, was by Ted- 

dington out of the Sister to 
Singapore, and through her he 
traced to the Touchstone and Humphrey Clinker, Black- 
lock, Melbourne and Selim families. The dam of imported 
Petticoat was Pelisse, daughter of The Baron and Pel- 
erine. The produce of Petticoat has included The Nude 




PETTICOAT iiMPOBTEO) and MOLLEH 



by St. Gatien; Chiftk by Prism; Tea Gown by Mon- 
tana and Moller by Montana. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Imported Tempe cost her owner 470 guineas at Tat- 
tersall's Newmarket sale in 1892. She can boast of 
having the blood of the best En- 
glish families. A bay mare 
foaled in i88q, her sire was 
Tynedale and her dam Temer- 
aire. Tynedale was by Warlock 
out of Queen ofTyne. The pedi- 
gree of Warlock takes us back 
through Birdcatcher to Sir Her- 
cules. Whalebone, Waxy, Guic- 
cioli and Chanticleer and through 
his dam, Hlphine. to Emilius, 
Whiskey, Bustard and Bening- 
brough. Qiieen of Tyne, by 
Tomboy, out of a daughter of 
Whisker traced to Smolensko, 
Orville, John Bull, Waxy, Pot- 
8-os. Trumpator and Prunella. 
Through her dam Temeraire, 
Tempe has crosses of Touch- 
stone and Emilius. The sire of 
Temeraire was Adventurer by 
Newminster, son of Touchstone 
and Beeswing, and out of Palma, 

daughter of Emilius and Francesca, the latter being a 
daughter of Partisan, granddaughter of Orville and great- 
granddaughter of Buzzard. Witchery, the dam of Tem- 
eraire, was by Dundee out of a daughter of The Cure and 



was a great-grandson of Gladiator. Elphine gave to 
Witchery the Orville, Bustard and Beningbrough strains. 





THE TASK (imported) 



Elphine. Dundee, son of Lord of the Isles, was a grand- 
son of Touchstone and through his dam, Marmalade, 



TEMPE (imported) and TEMPEAN 

The produce of Tempe has included the Bay filly Balsam 
Fir by Friar's Balsam; the bay filly Devil's Dream by 
Chittabob; the bay filly Tempse by Tammany; and the 
bay colt Tempean by Sam Lucas. 

Winner of the Devonshire 
Nursery Stakes in 1891, import- 
ed The Task was regarded in En- 
gland as an excellent race mare 
in her two-year old form. She 
was foaled in 1889 and bred by 
the Duke of Portland. Her ped- 
igree runs back to Mrs. Cruik- 
shank by Walbeck; Tramp's 
dam by Gohanna; Fraxinella 
by Trentham; Everlasting by 
Eclipse; Hyena by Snap; Miss 
Belsea by Regulus, and also to 
Woodpeck, Bartlett's Childers, 
Honeywood's Arabian, and 
Bowe's Byerly Turk mare. The 
sire of The Task was Barcaldine, 
son of Solon and Ballyroe. The 
pedigrees of Solon and of Bally- 
roe are familiar. The dam of The 
Task was Satchel, a daughter of 
Galopin and (Quiver. In 1894, 
The Task threw the brown colt 
imported Sain by St. Serf and in 189=;, the chestnut filly, 
Shimoga by Sir Hugo. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Bred by John Watson, of England, imported Name- 
sake, a bay mare, foaled in 1889, is a half-sister to 
Geheimness, winner of the Oaks 
in 1885. Some of the richest strains 
of English equine blood unite in 
her. She was a daughter of Hamp- 
ton and Nameless. The pedigree 
of Hampton is as familiar as a 
household word in turf circles, his 
sire, Lord Clifden, tracing to New- 
minster, Touchstone, Dr. Syntax, 
Melbourne and Voltaire, and his 
dam. Lady Langden, tracing 
through Kettledrum to Rataplan, 
The Baron and Pocahontas, and 
through Haricot to Lanercost, 
Gladiator and Plenipotentiary. An- 
other cross of Rataplan and Queen 
Mary came to Namesake through 
her grandsire Blinkhoolie, the sire 
other dam Nameless and the son 
of Rataplan. The dam of Name- 
less was No Name, daughter ot 
Teddington and Queen of Beauty, 
her sire being by Orlando out of 
Miss Twickenham, and her dam a daughter ot Melbourne 
and ot Birthday, who was by Pantaloon out of Honoria 
by Camel. The sixth dam of Namesake was Maid of 
Honor by Champion; her seventh dam Etiquette bv 



dams she also traces to Matchem, the Newton Arabian. 
Ely Turk. St. Martin and the Okllield mare. Namesake 





SACRIFICE (imported) 



Orville; her eighth dam Boadicea by Alexander; and 
her ninth dam Brunette by Amaranthus. On the side of her 



NAMESAKE (imported) and NAMELY 

has produced Nominal by Inverness; Colonel Root by 
Tammany, and Namely by Sam Lucas. 

Two crosses of Touchstone, two of Birdcatcher, two 
of Partisan, three of Sultan, four of Blacklock, and two 
of Monimia, combined to give 
imported Sacrifice as rich blood 
as ever llowed in the veins of 
any English thoroughbred. She 
also includes among her ances- 
tors Newminster, Rataplan, 
Stockwell, Glencoe, Whisker 
and other great thoroughbreds 
of Royal descent. A bay mare, 
foaled in i88i, she is by Hamp- 
ton out of Sanctity. Her sire 
has been one of the noblest 
horses in the stud in this gener- 
ation, being the sire of no less 
than three winners of the Derby. 
Ayrshire, Merry Hampton and 
Ladas. Sanctity, the dam of 
Sacrifice, was by Caterer out of 
Dame Alice, who was the dam 
of many winners. The produce 
of Sacrifice h.is included Society 
by Marquis Townshend; Stadt- 
holder by New Holland; Scapu- 
lar by Marquis Townshend; Mintmaster by Minting; 
Leveret by Galopin; and Samara by Saraband. 



203 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The pedigree of imported Oriole includes three win- 
ners of the Derby and other great thoroughbreds of the 




ORIOLE (imported^ and TAMOR 

English turf. It shows three crosses of Touchstone, 
three of Catton, and two of Defence, and also is strong 
with such great names as Birdcatcher, Newminster, 
Rockingham, Picton, Alice Hawthorne. Muley. Selim, 
Plenipotentiary, Emilius, Wa.xy, 
Dr. Synta.x, B e n i n g b r o u g h, 
Smolensko, Whalebone and 
Partisan. The sire of Oriole 
was Ben D'Or, the Derby win- 
ner, and sire of Ormonde. 
Through both his sire and his 
dam Ben D'Or had the proud 
inheritance of Derby honors, his 
sire, Doncaster, and Thormanby, 
the sire of his dam, being dis- 
tinguished winners of the Blue 
Ribbon of the English turf. He 
transmitted these honors to his 
son Ormonde, who also became 
a Derby winner. It would 
almost seem, from these brilliant 
records, as though the winning 
of the Derby was a tradition in 
this family. The dam of im- 
ported Oriole was Fenella, 
daughter of Cambuscan and La 
Favorita. Cambuscan was by 

Newminster out of The Arrow, the latter being by Slane 
out of Southdown. La Favorita was foaled in France, 



and was also the dam of Dourance, who won $2';,, coo in 
stakes, and was the grandam of the fleet Grev Leg. Her 
sire, Monarque,was also the sire 
of the great Gladiateur. She, 
herself, was the dam of Flag- 
eolet, who became the sire of 
Rayon D'Or. Fenella's half 
brother. Flageolet, was the sire 
of winners, who took $600,000 
in stakes and purses in England 
and France. Among the pro- 
duce of Oriole have been Ogden, 
the winner of the Futurity, by 
Kilwarlin; Black Cap by Royal 
Hampton; and Tamor by Tam- 
many. 

Imported Ayrshire Rose, a 
chestnut tllly, foaled in 1892, is 
by Ayrshire out of Rose of Lan- 
caster. Her sire was by the 
famous Hampton out of Atalanta, 
the latter being by Galopin out 
of Feronia. The dam of Atalanta 
was by Thormanby out of 
Woodbine. Thus, through her 
sire Ayrshire Rose traced by several different lines to 
Touchstone, Melbourne. Stockwell, and Pocahontas. Rose 
of Lancaster, the dam of Ayrshire Rose, was by Doncaster, 
the Derbv winner, and out^of Rouge Rose. Ayrshire 




AYRESHIRE ROSE (importedI and ASH LEAF 



Rose produced the chestnut filly Ash Leat, who was 
thrown in 1895 to the cover of Tammany. 



204 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Imported Gwendolyn, a bay mare with a star on her 
forehead, was foaled in iSqi. She was bred in Hnyland 
but imported to the United States 
in embryo by Mr. Daly. She is the 
daughter of St. Simon by Red 
Spinner. St. Simon, a son of Galo- 
pin and St. Anjieia. had the best 
blood of England on both sides of 
his pedigree. Galopin, bv Vedette 
out of Flying Duchess had, as we 
have several times heretofore seen, 
royal blood in every vein. St. An- 
gela, daughter of King Tom and 
Adeline, had also in her pedigree 
some of the best crosses known to 
the Stud Book. Her sire, King 
Tom, was a son of Harkaway, 
who was by Economist out of 
Fanny Dawson, while the dam of 
King Tom was the celebrated Po- 
cahontas, by Glencoe out of M.-.r- 
pessa. Adeline, the dam of St. 
Angela, was by ion out of Little 
Fairy, Ion being a son of Cain and 
Margaret, and Little Fairy being by 
Hornsea out of Lacerta. The pedigree of Red Spinner, 
dam of Gwendolyn, and also an inmate of Mr. Daly's 
stud, has been given at length on a preceding page of 
this volume. Gwendolyn was covered by imported In- 



country by Mr. Daly, her bay li 
Judette, came in embryo. The 



ly, imported Lady 
pedigree of Ladv 





LADV JUDETTE (imported) 



verness and, in i896.lthrew to him the bay fillv Gwennin. 
When imported Erin-Go-Bragh was brought to this 



GWENDOLYN (imposteo) and GWENNIN 

Judette is of the most distinguished character. That 
part of it which traces through her dam, Erin-Go-Bragh. 
has been already given on the page devoted to a sketch 
of that famous brood mare. The sire of Lady Judette 
was Highland Chief, and through 
him she has descent from sev- 
eral of the most illustrious lines 
known to the English turf The 
sire of Highland Chief was 
Hampton by Lord Clifden out 
of Lady Langden, and the 
strains of blood thus uniting in 
Hampton are too well known to 
need more than the merest ref- 
erence to them. Corrie, the 
dam of Highland Chief, was a 
daughter of Stockwell, son of 
The Baron and Pocahontas. Her 
dam. Mayonnaise, was by Ted- 
dington out of Picnic, Tedding- 
ton being the son of Orlando 
and Miss Twickenham and 
Picnic the daughter of Glaucus 
and Estella. The sixth dam of 
Lady Judette was Agnes by 
Clarion; her seventh dam, An- 
nette by Priam: her eighth dam. 
Potentate's dam by Don Juan. In 1895, Lady Judette 
produced the bay colt Ternary by Tammany. 



205 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Foaled in 1891, imported Maiden Poem is tiie daughtei 
of Master Kildare or Laureate, the latter being accepted. 
Laureate was a son of Rosicrucian and 
Laura. His sire, by Beadsman out of 
Madam Eglantine, was also the sire 
of imported Red Spinner. Laura, the 
dam of Laureate, was by Orlando out 
of Torment. Through her sire she 
had strains of Touchstone, Selim and 
Bustard. Through her dam, a daugh- 
ter of Alarm and out of a daughter of 
Glencoe, she had the valued strains 
of Defence, Sultan and Whalebone. 
Through her dam, Maiden Belle, 
Maiden Poem has crosses of Touch- 
stone, Glencoe, Whalebone and 
Melbourne. Maiden Belle was a 
daughter of Beau Brummel and 
Maiden Hair, her sire being by George 
Frederick out of Ma Belle. George 
Frederick was the son of Marsyas and 
the Princess of Wales, his sire being 
by Orlando out of Malibran. and his 
dam by Stock well out of The 
Bloomer, who was by Melbourne out 
of Lady Sarah. Ma Belle was by Lord Clifden out of 
Dulcibella, a daughter of Voltigeur. Maidenhair by 
Broomiclaw, son of Stockwell and Qiieen Maiy, was out 
of Fern. Brought to the cover of Sam Lucas, Maiden 



of Flora, was purchased by Mi'. Daly as a yearling for 
250 guineas. She is as royally bred as any mare that 





BENEFACTRESS (imported^ and BELLOVESUS 



Poem, in 1896, produced the bay filly Cleodora. 
Foaled in 1892, imported Benefactress by Bendigo out 



MAIDEN POEM (iupobted) and CLEODORA 

has ever been served in the United States. Her sire, 
Bendigo, was by Ben Battle out of Hasty Girl. The sire 
of Ben Battle was by Rataplan, whose pedigree has 
been frequently given. Young Alice, the dam of Ben 
Battle, was by Young Melbourne, 
son of Melbourne and Clarissa, and 
out of Sweet Hawthorne, daughter 
of Sweetmeat and Alice Haw- 
thorne. Hastv Girl, the dam of 
Bendigo, was by Lord Gough out 
of Irritation, the former being by 
Gladiateur, by Monarque out of 
Miss Gladiator, and of Bataglia by 
Rataplan out of Espoir, daughter 
of Liverpool and Esperance. Irri- 
tation was by King of Trumps out 
of Patience, the former being a son 
and the latter a great granddaugh- 
ter of Velocipede. On the side of 
her dam imported Benefactress is 
equally well bred. Her dam. Flora, 
was a daughter of Buccaneer and 
Violet. Buccaneer, by Wild Day- 
rell, was out of a daughter of 
Little Red Rover and Eclat; and 
Violet, the dam of Flora, was the 
daughter of Voltigeur and Gar- 
land. In 1896, Benefactress threw to imported Inverness, 
the dark brown colt, Bellovesus. 



206 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



Foaled in 1874, the bay mare Clara was bred by the 
Honorable August Belinoiit. She is one of the best 




filly Clarissa, both by Kingfisher, the bay colts Claren- 
don, Chatham and Canning, and the bay filly Clarinda, 
all by imported St. Blaise; the 
bay filly 1 Declare by imported 
Inverness and the bay colt Green- 
back II. by Tammany. 

Another of Mr. Daly's brood 
mares that came from the Nur- 
sery Stud Farm of August Bel- 
mont is the bay mare Mehallah. 
who was foaled in 1880. She is 
a daughter of Kingfisher out ol 
imported L a d y Mentmor. 
Through Kingfisher, who was a 
son of Lexington, Mehallah had 
the choicest American blood. 
\^^ ■"•ig^^^ The dam of Kingfisher, imported 
^(1 ■ 'jSbH Eltham Lass, was a daughter of 
Kingston, who was by Venison 
out of Queen Anne. The dam 
of Eltham Lass was a daughter 
of Pyrrhus the First and Pal- 
myra, the latter being by Sultan 
out of Hester. Imported Lady 

CLARA , , , , . • T- 

Mentmor, by Kmg 1 om out o( 
daughters of imported The Ill-Used, whose pedigree and May Bloom, was descended from Haikaway, Economist, 
history has already become an important chapter in the Pocahontas, Glencoe and Newminster. To imported 
Stud Book of this country as well as of England. It is The Ill-Used Mehallah threw the fillies Her Majesty, 
only necessary to record the parentage of The Ill-Used. Glory and Phoebe and the famous bay colt Sam Lucas. 
who was by Breadalbane out ot 
EUermire, to show clearly the 
richness of his blood. Camilla, 
the dam of Clara, was not less 
highly bred than the stallion who 
served her. She was a daughter 
.of King Tom and Agnes. King 
Tom, through his parents. Hark- 
away and Pocahontas, traced to 
Economist, Whisker, Fanny 
Dawson, Glencoe and Muley. 
Agnes, representative of that 
great family known by her 
name, was by Pantaloon out of 
Black Agnes, and through her 
sire was descended from Buz- 
zard and Selim, and thi'ough her 
dam from Velocipede, Blacklock 
and imported Diomed. On the 
side of her dam Clara also traces 
to Squirrel, Marske, Driver, 
Merlin, Commoner, the Selaby 

-r I J ni • m;u-* T T MEHALLAH 

Turk and Place s White Turk. 

Clara has been very productive. Her sons and daughters By imported Inverness she had the bay filly Meekness 
have included the bay filly Marie Jansen and the bay and by Tammany the bay filly Makallah. 

207 




THE AMERICAN TURF 



Affinity, a chestnut mare foaled in 1884, was also from 's the dam of the filly Afflatus and by the same sire, the 
the Nursery Stud, and was as choicely bred as any of the dam of the chestnut colt Afghan. In 1896 she produced 

the chestnut filly Affiant by Tam- 
many. 

Belinda, a bay mare foaled in 
1 88s and bred at the Nursery 
Stud was another one of the 
daughters of Kingfisher, who 
was much favored by Mr. Bel- 
mont. Her dam was Bellona, 
daughter of imported The 111- 
Used and Beatrice. Through 
Beatrice, who was a daughter 
of Kentucky and imported Ber- 
nice, Bellona traced to Lexing- 
ton, Magnolia and Stockwell. 
Bra.xey, the dam of Bernice, was 
by Moss Trooper out of Queen 
Mary by Gladiator, The sixth 
dam of Belinda was by Plenipo- 
tentiary; her seventh dam, 
Myirha, by Whalebone; her 
eighth dam, Gift by Gohanna; 
her ninth dam, a sister to Gra- 
zier by Sir Peter; her tenth dam, 
a sister to Aimator by Trumpator, and her eleventh dam 
a sister to Postmaster by Herod. At the Bitter Root 
Stock Farm Belinda has been served by Tammany. In 




AFFINITY AND AFFIANT 

■sons and daughters that came out of that famous estab- 
lishment. She was another daughter of Kingfisher, who 
was a son of Lexington and imported Eltham Lass, Her 
dam was Attraction, who was of royally bred English 
stock. The sire of Attraction 
was imported Balrownie and her 
dam was imported Maud. Bal- 
rownie by Annandale out of 
Queen Mary traced to Touch- 
stone and Rebecca, Camel and 
Banter, Lottery, Cervantes, Par- 
tisan and Pauline, Gladiator, 
Plenipotentiary and Myrrha. Im- 
ported Maud was a daughter of 
Stockwell out of Countess of 
Albemaile, the latter being by 
Lanercost out of a sister to 
Hornsea, who . was by Veloci- 
pede out of a daughter of Cer- 
berus, Included among other 
distinguished ancestors of Affin- 
ity were Sir Peter, Pegasus, 
Paymaster, Herod, Snap, Regu- 
lus. Hip, Babraham's dam, Will- 
iam's Woodstock Arabian, the 
St, Victor barb, Why Not and a 
royal mare. To the cover of im- 
ported The Ill-Used Affinity threw the colt Circular and 
also the bay colt University. By imported Inverness she 



i8qs, she produced to the cover of that great stallion the 




BELINDA AND CROKER 



bay colt Grand Sachem, and in the following year she 
threw the bay colt Croker. 



208 



THE AMERICAN TURI-' 



I'lom the Rancho del Paso of Mr. J. B. Haggin came 
Miss IJarebin, a biown mare foaled in i8qo. She is by 




MISS DAREBIN AND MOYA 



imported Darebin out or Miss Clay. Imported Darebin 
was the son of imported The Peer and Lurline. Through 
his sire, who was by Melbourne out of (^iinizelli. Dare- 
bin traced to Humphrey Clinker. Comus, Cervantes, 
Golumpus, Touchstone and Pan- 
taloon. l.Lirline. the dam of 
Darebin, was by Traducer out 
of Mermaid. Her sire was a son 
of The Libel and Arethusa, The 
Libel being by Pantaloon out of 
Pasquinade, and Arethusa by 
Ellis out of Languid. Mermaid, 
the dam of Lurline, was by King 
Tom out of Waterwitch, daugh- 
ter of Flying Dutchman and Ev- 
ening Star. Miss Clay, the dam 
of Miss Darebin, came of the best 
American stock, being the 
daughter of Hindoo and Belie 
Runnymede. Hindoo, through 
his sire Virgil, transmitted the 
Vandal strain to his descend- 
ants and through his dam Flor- 
ence, the Lexington, Weather- 
bit and Irish Birdcatcher strains. 
Belle Runnymede was the 
daughter of imported Billet and 

Fancy Jane, the latter being by Neil Robinson, son of 
Wagner and Belle Lewis. The dam of Fancy Jane was 



a daughter of imported Knight of St. George and a Glen- 

coe mare. To the cover of imported Inverness, Miss 

Darebin threw Scottish Chieftain 

in 1894; inverary II. in 1895, and 

Moya in 1896. 

Another good brood mare who 
came from the Rancho del Paso 
is the chestnut Missoula, who was 
foaled in 1890. She is by imported 
Sir Modred out of Dixianne. Her 
sire, by Traducer out of idalia, 
had strains of Pantaloon, Camel, 
Touchstone, Beeswing, Slane and 
Voltair. 'i'raducer was by The 
Libel, son of Pantaloon and Are- 
thusa, daughter of Elis. Idalia 
was the daughter of Cambuscan, 
son of Newminster and out of 
Dulcibella, daughter of Voltiguer. 
,V«AW :']/ L. '■'' rJi>^i;"ine, the dam of Missoula. 

1- '7 W^ were united the best English and 

American blood. Dixianne was 
by imported King Ban out of 
Dixie's War Flag. King Ban, be- 
ing a son of imported King Tom 
and Atlantis, traced to Harkaway and Pocahontas. 
The sire of Dixie's War Flag was War Dance, by Lex- 
ington out of Reel. To imported Child of the Mist or 
Silver King, Missoula produced in 1894 the bay filly, 




MISSOULA AND MAL-LAK-WA 



Corvallis. In 1896, she produced the chestnut colt, 
Mal-lak-wa, by imported Inverness. 



209 



The AMERICAN TURF 



Amazon, a bav mare foaled in 1887, was bred by Au- 
gust Belmont. She is the dam of the chestnut colt 
Amazonian by Tammany. She 
is royally bred, being by im- 
ported The Ill-Used out of Fair 
Barbarian. Her sire gave her 
crosses of Stockwell, Melbourne, 
Irish Birdcatcher, Lanercost and 
other strong lines. Her dam, 
Fair Barbarian, was by Hermit 
out of Romping Girl. As is well 
known. Hermit was by New 
minster out of Seclusion, thus 
uniting Touchstone, Dr. Syntax 
and Tadmor lines. Romping Girl, 
the dam of Fair Barbarian, was 
by Wild Dayrell out of Gay. Wild 
Uayiell, son of Eon and Ellen 
Middleton, was a grandson of 
Cain, Margaret. Bay Middleton 
and Myrrha. Through Gay other 
strains of the Melbourne blood 
were given to Romping Girl, Gay 
being a daughter of Melbourne 
and of Princess Alice, who was 

by Liverpool out of Qiieen of Trumps, by Velocipede. 
Even more distinguished ancestry is included in the 
pedigree of Amazon. Among her grandams were Prin- 
cess Royal, Qiieen of Diamonds. Lass of the Mill. Brown 



Castrel, Diamond, Sir Peter, Florizel, Eclipse, Engineer, 
Partner, Makeless and Biimmei'. 





BEAUTY AND BRITOMARTIS. 



Woodcot 

Burton b 



Chestnut Thornton, Old Thornton and the 
arb mare, while among her grandsires were 



Beauty, a chestnut mare foaled 1888 and bred by Au- 
gust Belmont, was covered by imported Rayon D'Or and 
in 1803 produced the filly Ray of Gold; was covered 
by Tristan and in 1894 produced the black tllly. Tryst; 

was covered by imported Inver- 
ness and in 1895 produced the 
chestnut filly Bellibone, and was 
covered by Inverness and in 
1896 produced the chestnut filly 
Britomartis. Beauty is by im- 
ported St. Blaise out of Bella, 
and one of the choicest get of 
her great sire, through whom 
she numbered among her an- 
cestors such famous thorough- 
breds as Touchstone, Gladiator, 
Sir Hercules, Whisker, Whale- 
bone, Waxy. Selim, Crucifix, 
Priam and scores of others, not 
less worthy. Bella, the dam of 
Beauty, was by Fiddlesticks out 
of imported Bernice. Fiddle- 
sticks was one of Lexington's best 
sons, and his dam was imported 
Filagree, by Stockwell out of 
Extasy, who was by Touchstone 
out of Miss Wilfred, the latter 
being by Lottery, by Tramp out of a daughter of Smolen- 
sko. Throuafh her dam Bella had another Stockwell strain. 



THE AMERrr.W TURF 



ButtL'ifly, :i chestnut ni:ire, foaled in 1886, came from 
Mr. J. B. Haggin's Rancho del Paso. She is the daughter 
of imported Kyrle Daly and 
Mariposa, and is thus well 
bred in the To'ichstone and 
Lexington lines. Her sire, 
Kyrle Daly, was a son of 
Artillery out of Colleen Rhue. 
Artillery was by Touchstone 
out of Jeannette, his dam 
being a daughter of Irish Bird- 
catcher, son of Sir Hercules 
and of Peidita, who was bv 
Langar out of Delenda. Col- 
leen Rhue, the dam of Kyrle 
Daly, was by Gemma-di- 
Vergy out of Princess. Gem- 
ma-di-Vergy was a son of 
Sir Hercules and Snowdrop 
by Heron out of l^airy. Prin- 
cess was a daughter of Re- 
triever by Recovery out of 

Tadliom, her dam being 

Echidna by Economist out of 

Miss Pratt. Mariposa, the 

dam of Butterlly, was a thoroughly well-bred American. 

the daughter of Monarchist and Heliotrope. Monai'chist, 

as is of course well known, was one of the best sons of 

Lexington, his dam being Mildred by imported Glencoe 



and out of Evergreen, daughter of imported Glencoe and 
Mistletoe. Butterlly produced m 1890 Chrysalis, and in 





FLORID AND IVY BLOOM 



out of Levity. Heliotrope, the dam of Mariposa, was by 
imported Knight of St. George, son of Irish Birdcatcher 



BUTTERFLY and LARVA 

i8qi Emma Mc, both by Hidalgo; in 1894 Loch Ness, 
and in iSqb Larva, both by imported Inverness. 

Bred by Mi'. J. B. Haggin, the bay mare Florid was 
foaled in 18S8. She is the daughter of imported The 
lil-Used and Flower Girl. Her 
dam by imported Australian 
out of Neutrality, was of the 
new blood that has been such 
a potent quantity in the devel- 
opment of the American thor- 
oughbred in this generation. 
Australian was a son of West 
Australian and Emilia, thus 
combining in himself the 
strains of the Melbourne, 
Touchstone, Emilius and Whis- 
ker fimilies. Neutrality, the 
dam of Flower Girl, was by 
that staunch American horse 
Revenue, son of Trustee and 
Rosalie Somers, the latter, as 
will be readily recalled, being 
by Sir Charles out of Mischief. 
No stronger strains than those 
running through Sir Charles, 
Trustee and Revenue are found 
in the .American Stud Book. 
Flond's produce include Alla-habad by Hyder Ali, Franc 
by Silver King and Ivy Bloom by imported Inverness. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



In the brown mare Virgin, daugiiter of Miiner and 
Virgie, is united tiie blood of imported Leamington, 




VIRGIN AND E-COME 

Lexington, Vandal and Wagner, a combination that can 
scarcely be excelled in the experience of American turf- 
men. Miiner was by imported Leamington out 
of a daughter of Lexington and Kate Anderson. The 
pedigrees of Leamington and Lex- 
ington combine the choicest strains 
of English and American blood, and 
the Leamington-Lexington cross has 
always been considered one of the 
most potent in modern breeding. 
Kate Anderson, the grandam of 
Miiner, was by imported Sovereign 
out of Chloe Anderson, thus adding 
another valuable strain to the pedi- 
gree of Virgin. Virgie, the dam of 
Virgin, was a daughter of Virgil and 
Lax, Virgil, as is well known, being 
by Vandal out of Hymenia. Lax was 
a daughter of imported Scythian, son 
of Orlando and grandson of Touch- 
stone, and her dam, Lavender, was 
by Wagner out of Alice Carneal. 
Virgin's sixth dam was by Robin 
Grey; her eighth dam by imported 
Highflyer; her ninth dam by im- 
ported Fearnought ; her tenth dam by 
Ariel; her twelfth dam by the Cullen 
Arabian; her thirteenth dam by Croft's Partner; her llf- 
teenth dam by the Curwen bay barb and her sixteenth dam 



by D'Arcy's chestnut Arabian. The produce oi Virgin 

have been the brown colt Vitringa by imported Child of 

the Mist, the bay colt Vignola by 

Silver King, and the dark bay 

^m colt E-come by imported Inver- 

kfl[^ iie'^s. 

^^11% f Namonia, a bay mare foaled in 

■ *>vW,, ,gg3_ daughter of imported Sir 

Modred and La Favorita, was 
bred by Mr. J. B. Haggin. Sir 
Modred's pedigree, beginning 
with his parents, Traducer and 
Idalia, runs back, as is well 
known, to Pantaloon, Newmins- 
ster, Voltigeur, Camel and 
Touchstone, having several 
crosses of the most important 
families to which those thor- 
oughbreds belong. La Favorita, 
the dam of Namonia, was by 
Glenelg out of Edeny, the 
Glenelg strain going back to 
Stockwell, Pocahontas, Mel- 
bourne and Defence. On the 
side of her dam La Favorita came 
tVom good American stock, Edeny being a daughter of 
Lexington. Namonia was covered by Hyder Ali, and in 
1893 threw the bay tilly New Moon. The next year she 
threw the bay colt Namaquas, also by Hyder Ali. In 189s, 




NAMONIA AND NICOMACHUS 



she produced the bay colt Negligence, and in 1896, the 
chestnut colt Nicomachus, both by imported Inverness. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



An own sister to Namonia, the bay mare Belle of 
Butte, was foaled in 1880 and bred at the Rancho del 
Paso. Daughter of imported Sir 
Modred and La Favorita, she has 
shown ail the best qualities of the 
great thoroughbreds of England and 
the United States, to whom, in com- 
mon with Namonia, she traces. Be- 
sides the ancestors to whom reference 
has just been made in the sketch, of 
her sister, Belle of Butte and Namo- 
nia are descended through their 
grandam from Wilkes' Wonder, im- 
ported Saltram, Melzar, Haynes" 
Flimnap, Clodius, Evans' imported 
Stirling, the Belsize Arabian, Croft's 
Partner, Bald Galloway, the Akas- 
ter Turk, Leede's Arabian and 
Spanker. Barren, in 1894, Belle of 
Butte produced in 1895 the bay filly 
Belle de Nuit by imported Inverness, 
and in 1896 the bay colt Silver Beaux 
by Montana. 

Few brood maies can boast ot 
more illustrious descent than Home- 
less, who was foaled in 1890, and bred by Mr. D. 
D. Withers. In the fifth generation back her ances- 
tors include Timoleon. imported Sarpedon. Rowena, im- 
ported Glencoe, of whom she has two crosses; Irish 



tors were Sir Archy, Ball's Florizel. Hmilius, Sultan, 
Trampoline, Touchstone, Glencairne, Sir Hercules, 




^,. 




HOMELESS AND HOMEMADE 



Birdcatcher, Marpessa, Heron and Pyrrhus the First. In 
the preceding generation her most distinguished ances- 



BELLE OF BUTTE and SILVER BEAUX 

Waterwitch, Muley and Bustard. Still further back she 
derives from imported Diomed, Florizel, Rockingham, 
Eclipse, imported Shark, Pot-8-os, Beningbrough, Selim, 
Buzzard, Tramp, Wa.xy. Blacklock, Trumpator, Whale- 
bone, Whisker, Comus, Lottery 
and Defence. The sire of Home- 
less was the celebrated Uncas, 
son of Lexington and Coral, his 
dam being by Vandal, imported 
Glencoe's great son, and out of 
imported Cairngorme, who was 
by Cotherstone out of Glenluce. 
The dam of Homeless was im- 
ported Sweet Home, daughter of 
Knight of St. Patrick and Bittern. 
Knight of St. Patrick was by 
imported Knight of St. George, 
and his dam was Pocahontas by 
imported Glencoe out of Mar- 
pessa. Bittern, the dam of Sweet 
Home, was by Fisherman out of 
Village Lass, her sire being a son 
of Heron by Bustard. Village Lass 
was by Pyrrhus the First. In 1894, 
Homeless produced the bay filly 
HomestakebyBrown Fox; in 1895, 
the bay colt Highbinder, and in 
1896, the bay colt Homemade, both the last named being 
by imported Inverness. 



213 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ported Inverness. She was b;irren in 1894, but in 1895 
siie produced the chestnut colt Highland Bali, and in 




SLOW DANCE AhD SWORD DANCE 



From the Rancho del Paso, from which establishment, 

as we have seen, Mr. Daly has had some of his best 

native brood mares, came also 

Slow Dance, who was foaled in 

1890. Her sire was impoi'ted 

Darebin and her dam Sly Dance. 

The pedigree of Darebin has 

been given in detail on a preced- 
ing page in the sketch of Slow 

Dance's half-sister, Miss Darebin. 

Sly Dance, the dam of Slow 

Dance, was by War Dance out 

of Sly Boots. From War Dance, 

son of Lexington and Reel, she 

derives from Boston, Timoleon, 

imported Sarpedon, imported 

Glencoe and Camilla. Sly Boots 

came of another great American 

thoroughbred family, her sii'e 

being a son of Revenue and 

Topaz. Her dam. Skedaddle. 

was by imported Yorkshire out 

of Magnolia. She has a double 

cross of imported Glencoe. 

Through her dam. Slow Dance 

was descended from Bobadilla by Bobadil, Pythoness by the following year the chestnut foal Sword Dance. 

Sorcerer, Princess by Sir Peter, Golden Grove by Blank, Beaucatcher, the dam of the chestnut colt Crutch by 

Spinster by Croft's Partner and the Layton barb mare, Tammany, was foaled in 1891, and bred by Mr. D. D. 

and also from such other great grandsires as Dungannon, 'Withers. She is by imported Eothen out of Auricoma, 

and few mares of this genera- 
tion have been able to exhibit 
more lofty lineage. Imported 
Eothen was a son of Hampton, 
the great sire of Derby winners, 
whose pedigree and history have 
already been given. The dam 
of Eothen was Sultana by Ox- 
ford out of Besika, her sire being 
a son of Irish Birdcatcher and 
Honey Dear, and her dam by 
Beiran out of Merope, thus giv- 
ing her the valuable strains of 
Whalebone, Waxy, Emilius, 
Bay Middleton, Priam, Buzzard, 
Blacklock, Whisper and Whis- 
key. On the side of her dam 
the lineage of Beaucatcher is not 
less notable. Her dam, Auri- 
coma, was by imported King 
Ernest out of Belinda. Imported 
King Ernest, son of King Tom 
and Ernestine, was descended 
from Harkawav, Economist, imported Glencoe, Touch- 
stone and Waxy. 




BEAUCATCHER and CRUTCH 



Turf, Herod, Makeless, Brimmer, Place's White Turk 
and Dodsworth. Slow Dance has been covered by im- 



214 



THE AMI'.RICA.V TLIRF 



Got b\' the greatest race liorse known to the American 
turf in this tieneration, the t^iay mare, Hlla Gregg, iiall- 




ELLA GREGG 

sister to Lytton, Chimera, Cyclops and Cambyses, was 
foaled in 1892. Her sire, Salvator, son of imported 
Prince Charlie and Salina, is so well known, both in his 
pedigree and his history, that a detailed account of his 
lines of descent is scarcely called for 
here. In fact, they have been fully 
given on another page of this volume. 
Few horses of this generation have 
been more royally bred, or have more 
perfectly shown the virtures of their 
origin. Lizzie Lucas, the dam of Ella 
Gregg, was by imported Australian, 
out of Eagless. The family from 
which imported Australian was de- 
rived has also been one of the great 
factors in the development of the 
modern thoroughbred in this country 
as well as in England. Eagless, the 
dam of Lizzie Lucas, was by imported 
Glencoe out of a daughter of Grey 
Eagle and Mary Morris. Grey Eagle, 
by Woodpecker out of Ophelia, was 
descended on the side of both his sire 
and his dam from Sir Archv. and from 
Wild Medlev. Mary Morris, by Medoc 
out of Miss Obstinate, traced to Sir 
Archy and American Eclipse. 

Another daughter of Salvator, and also a half-sister to 
Commache, is Etta M'Keever, who was foaled in 1892. 



Her dam was Htliel, daughter of imported King Ban 
and Maud Hampton. As we have elsewhere seen, 

King Ban, through his par- 
ents. King Tom and .'\tlantis, 
numbered among his ances- 
tors Harkaway, Economist, 
Glencoe, Thormanby, Wind- 
hound, Alice Hawthorne, 
Wild Dayrell. Whisker, .Sul- 
tan and Bay Middleton. Maud 
Hampton, Ethel's dam, was a 
daughter of Hunter's Lexing- 
ton, which gave her the famous 
Boston and imported Glencoe 
blood. Her dam, Mollie Fisher, 
was a daughter of imported 
Knight of St. George aud Liz- 
zie Morgan, Maud Hampton 
thus having through Lizzie 
Morgan another Glencoe 
cross. The dam of Lizzie 
Morgan was Blue Filly Fiatt, 
whose sire was imported 
Hedgeford by Filho-da-Puta, 
and whose dam was Lady 
Tompkins by American Eclipse. In the earlier English 
pedigrees, such ancestors of Etta M'Keever appear as 
Young Maid of the Oaks by imported Expedition (Pega- 
sus) and Maid of the Oaks by Spread Eagle (Volunteer). 




ETTA M KEEVER and SAM M'KEEVER 



In 1896, Etta M'Keever threw the bav colt Sam M'Keever 
to the cover of Sam Lucas. 



ai5 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




HON. AUGUST BELMONT 

FOUNDER, THE NURSERY STUD 



2l6 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Attention has been called in the preceding chapter to 
the valuable services rendered by the Honorable Autjust 
Belmont in the work of reorganizing the American turf 
in the present generation, and in elevating it to a posi- 
tion of honor and influence. That, however, was by no 
means the only part that Mr. Belmont played in turf 
affairs during his lifetime and, important though it was, 
did not surpass in usefulness to the cause of the 
thoroughbred his unremitting devotion to breeding and 
racing. Perhaps the future will even look upon Mr. 
Belmont's breeding enterprises as constituting the great- 
est and most lasting benefit that he conferred upon the 
turf. The primary cause of the magnitude of this enter- 



to acquiring a knowledge of the methods by which the 
thoroughbred has been brought to such perfection in 
Europe. His intimate association with the Rothschilds 
was of great advantage to him in this connection, and it 
was not long before he was completely and soundly 
familiar with those theories and practices of breeding 
the blood horse that had stood the test of generations 
and were accepted everywhere as the foundation of all 
good breeding. It was easy for him to realize what was 
lacking in the representatives of the thoroughbred in 
America and his practical mind at once determined on the 
steps necessary to infuse the best equine blood into the 
horses that should uphold the honor of our country on the 




THE NURSERY STUD, LEXINGTON, KY. 

prise and its wonderful success lay in the character ot turf. Breeding became one ol Mr. Belmont's favorite 

the man. In everything that engaged his attention, pastimes. More than that. It was a serious matter 

it was part of his nature to seek for fundamental with him, for no man ever had the interest of the turf, 

principles and to pursue every ramification of a subject or thoughts for its future nearer to his heart. Outside 

to its fountain head. of his banking business, and notwithstanding the social. 

The same thoroughness and capacity to grasp the true literary and political calls that were made upon his time, 

significance of things which explains his success in so breeding ultimately became one of the chief objects of 

many other directions, was fLilly asserted in his fondness his attention. Flis wealth enabled him to buy the best 

for the horse, although, at the outset, this had its origin animals in the market in any country, and his intimate 

merely in a desire for relaxation from more serious re- relations with the leading racing men in England gave 

sponsibilities. No sooner had he begun to give even him exceptional opportunities to add valuable blood 

cursory attention to the subject than he devoted himself horses to his stud. His purchases were invariably made 

ai7 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



judiciously and in the exercise of a thorough knowledge 
of the animal, and with a mastering ambition to do only 
that which should serve the best interests of the turf 

With justice it may be said that he set the first ex- 
ample for that magnificent development of breeding as 
an art that has raised the standard of the American 
thoroughbred until, at the present day, no animal in the 
world can claim to be its superior in speed or bottom. 
Even his success in racing was subordinate, in his mind, 
to the gratification that he experienced when the horses 
bred in accordance with his ideas proved their superior- 
ity. His maroon and scarlet were made prominent in 
public esteem from the establishment of Jerome Park. 



favored climate and grasses of Kentucky- Nevertheless, 
it promptly took a position in the front rank of the great 
breeding establishments of the United States, and the 
results that accrued from the liberal management and 
the well-informed and painstaking care that Mr. Belmont 
personally gave to it were of the most notable char- 
acter, and won for it a reputation that was not even 
limited by the boundaries of the country. When the 
estate, which comprised over a thousand acres, came into 
Mr. Belmont's possession in the sixties it was nearly all 
unimproved wood land. Under his wise direction it 
was converted into a fertile, well-tilled expanse and be- 
came an almost perfect spot. Its nearness to New York 




TEN DAYS OLD 



URSERV STUD 



There, as well as at Saratoga and Long Branch, when Citv made it especially agreeable to its owner, since he 

those tracks were in the heyday of their popularity, his was thus enabled to give his personal attention to 

stable won every triumph they could offer, and its owner, the establishment. Upward of 500 acres of the prop- 

although already known from one end of the United erty were kept under cultivation, a large extent of it 

States to the other, gained recognition as the undisputed laid down in grass. 

leader of sport in America. But always in the midst of The accommodations that were afforded for Mr. 

these glories he turned fondly to his breeding establish- Belmont's equine treasures befitted their lofty lineage, 

ment and gave to that an attention that showed how Some fifty acres comprised the paddocks, specially 

thoroughly absorbed in the pursuit he had become. devised and arranged for the comfort of their occupants, 

Located, originally, at Babylon, L. I., the Nursery and beyond them was a fine level mile track, where the 

Stud labored under some disadvantages when compared aspirants for racing honors were put through their 

with what has generally been considered the more courses. This mile track was an ideal race course, and 



218 



THE AMKRICAN TURF 



pi-obably few, if ;iny, th:it were superior to it ever 
existed in tiiis country, in connection witii it w;is a 
cooling shed and a grand stand from wliicli the per- 
formances of the coming cracks could be studied. Not 
far away was a pretty pine grove, where the stallions 
used to hold court, and the necessary stables and pad- 
docks, varying trom one to two and a half acres each 
in size, wei'e conveniently scattered about. A feature 
of the place was the training stable or sciiool, as it 
was called, which was an ideal building, covering a 
very large space, all under one loof, and splendidly 
lighted from above. Here the horses could be exercised 
throughout the winter months despite the weather, and 



associated with him in the business, was a house of 
ordinary dimensions, containing about twenty -four 
rooms. Located near the centre of the estate it com- 
manded a beautiful view of the entire property, was 
surrounded by a wide lawn, and had attached to it 
stables for carriage horses, coach house, bowling alley 
and other such adjuncts as naturally pertained to the 
country residence of a gentleman of wealth and good 
taste. On the estate was also a fine trout pond, some 
thirty acres in extent, that afforded the most enjoyable 
sport with rod and line. The mansion was filled with 
mementoes of Mr. Belmont's racing career and has thus 
been preserved with filial care by his sons. Myriads 







^f.. 



A GROUP OF YEARLINGS 



the very great advantage derived tYom this was often 
seen in the splendid condition in which the bearers of 
the maroon and scarlet came to the post at the early 
spring meetings. 

Adjoining this building and connected with it were 
the principal stables which were finished in accordance 
with the most advanced ideas for the advantage of the 
horses. Close by was the trainer's residence, two 
smaller stables and buildings for the accommodation of" 
the boys employed about the place. Mr. Belmont's 
private residence, which, in fact, was the sporting head- 
quarters of himself and his sons, who ultimately became 



of portraits of noted race horses were collected by the 
master of the Nursery Stud and from the walls of the 
drawing room pictures of such noble animals as the 
great Hnsrlish Derby winner, Ormonde. The Ill-Used. 
Kingfisher. Cdenelg, Patience, Woodbine. Sultana, 
Fiddlesticks, Victoria, Fenian, Prince Royal and a host 
of other celebrities are displayed, many ot them mem- 
bers of the Belmont stable through many years, and 
others the great blood horses of the world. 

To enumerate the names of all the old time favorites 
of the turf, whose names were identified with the 
Nursery Stud during the lifetime of its founder would 



219 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



require many pages, and however agreeable the task 
might be, we must be content to give brief attention 
only to some of the more important, trusting that an 
account of them will be sufficient to fully indicate the 
character of the establishment. Foremost among the 
stallions that Mr. Belmont owned was pei'haps imported 
St. Blaise, and his purchase of that animal was a con- 
vincing proof of his thorough knowledge of horseflesh, 
and his skill in divining breeding value in an animal. At 
the time of Mr. Belmont's death, it was well said that 
" no stallion, living or dead, ever achieved such wonders 
at the stud as the Derby winner of 1883 has done, and 
since then his reputation has never ceased to increase." 



He was the son of Breadalbane, who was a brother 01 
Blair Athol, winner of the Derby in 1864, and his dam 
was Ellermire, who was Elland's dam. The Stockwell 
and Blink Bonny strains on the part of his sire and the 
Irish Birdcatcher and Lanercost strains on the part of his 
dam made him a horse of irreproachable pedigree. Pur- 
chased as a yearling in 1871, The ill-Used was shipped 
to New York, and, as a two-year old, started at the Fall 
Meeting at Jerome Park, running for the Nursery Stakes, 
in which, however, he was not successful. When run- 
ning for the Belmont Stakes as a three-year old, he was 
slightly injured, but never after suffered defeat, winning, 
subsequently, the Sequel Stakes and the Kenner Stakes. 




NURSERY STUD 



An account of St. Blaise has been given in the chapter 
on Race Horses, Past and Present. Before Mr. Belmont 
died, he saw his stallion stand at the head of the win- 
ning sires one season, and had the satisfaction of wit- 
nessing his get capture one Futurity and run second for 
another. In 1889, his two-year olds in Mr. Belmont's 
stable alone won $48,775, and in the following year no 
less than $108,185. This was besides what his two- 
year olds in other stables won. 

Second only to St. Blaise in the affections of Mr. 
Belmont was imported The Ill-Used, who was bred by 
Colonel Townley, in England, and was foaled in 1870. 



RAYON D'OR 

His racing career then ended and he was retired to the 
stud. There, although he never had a very great chance, 
he got Forester, Jack of Hearts, Jacobus, Woodflower, 
Carita, Topsy, Badge. Magnetizer, Magnate, His High- 
ness, and many others. His most successful son was 
probably His Highness, who, as a two-year old, stood 
at the head of his class, winning upwards of $112,000, 
including the great Futurity 

Nonesuch was a good son of The Ill-Used and was 
foaled in 1879. His dam was imported Nonpareille, 
daughter of Kingston and England's Beauty. Kingston, 
the son of Venison (by Partisan) out of Queen Ann by 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Sl;ine, w;is the sire of the d;iins of imported Gleii- 
elg and Kingfisher; Caractacus, winner of llie Derby; 
Queen Bertha, winner of the Oaks and dam of the 
Wheel of P'ortune, who won the Thousand Guineas and 
the Oaks; Silver Hair, dam of the Derby winner, 
Silvio and King John, Nottingham and of other good ones. 
He was one of the most illustrious sires of England. 

Fiddlesticks was another famous stallion of the 
Nursery Stud. The son of Lexington and imported 
Filagree, he was foaled in 1873. He was a good race 
horse and, in 1876, was the winner of the Withers 
Stakes and the Jersey St. Leger, in the former defeating 
Brother to Bassett, Merciless, Algerine, Viceroy and 



Few thoroughbreds on the American tun, previous to 
his time, ever had a more notable record as a two-year 
old than Magnetizer, son of imported The Ill-Used and 
Magnetism. He was bred by Mr. Belmont and foaled in 
1885. His dam. Magnetism by Kingfisher out of Attrac- 
tion, gave him strains of the best thoroughbred blood ol 
two continents. When he first started as a two-year 
old in the spring at Jerome Park he won a half-mile race, 
but in a contest for the Foam Stakes failed even to gain a 
place. Next, however, he won the Surf Stakes, beating 
Guarantee, Balston, Omaha and others, and then carried 
off the Independent Stakes at Monmouth Park in one of 
the best races of the year, carrying top weight at 120 




HENRY OF 

Others. He was also the winner of the Ocean Stakes 
and ran second for the Belmont Stakes and the Jersey 
Derby. At the end of his four-year old career he passed 
into the stud where he scarcely had the opportunity that 
he deserved. His daughter, Bella, however, attained to 
fame in breeding, her first foal, Belisarius, winning 
eighteen races in 1890, and nearly as many the following 
season. Bella was also the dam of Beauty and of Belle 
D., both of whom were winners. Carmen, another 
daughter of Fiddlesticks, was the dam of the two-year 
old winner, Carmine. 



NAVARRE 



NURSERY 8TU0 



pounds, beating Sir Dixon, Balston, Miracle and others. 
This was a good performance, but for the rest of the 
year he was not successful, running third in the Hopeful 
Stakes, and unplaced in the Junior Champion Stakes. 
As a three-year old he ran only a few times. 

After many years of success with the original Nursery 
Farm on Long Island, Mr. Belmont felt impelled to re- 
move his establishment to Kentucky. Notwithstanding 
that he had been eminently successful in establishing the 
principle that it was possible to breed well in the North 
if the proper attention was given to the matter, even he 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



was constrained to concede tliat Kentucky might offer 
some exceptionally favorable conditions, such as it was 
scarcely likely could be met with elsewhere. The 
attractions of the blue grass and limestone soil seem to 
be well nigh irresistible to all turfmen at times, and the 
thoroughbred traditions of Kentucky exercise at all times 
a powerful intluence. Accordingly, in the fall of 1885, 
he removed his breeding establishment from Long Island 
and founded the Nurserv Stud, near Lexington, Ky. His 
new farm was one of the best in the blue grass region. 
Immediately after taking possession of it he entered 
upon the work of improving the property on the same 
generous scale that he had displayed in building up the 



the stock, and there are the usual dwelling houses and 
other appurtenances necessary to the perfect manage- 
ment of such a large estate. When this farm was made 
the headquarters of the stud the value of the old Nursery 
Farm on Long Island was not ignored. It was retained 
as in a sense supplementary to the Kentucky establish- 
ment. There the yearlings have been handled, the 
race horses intended for racing in the East have been 
wintered, while those who have gone amiss during the 
active season of the year have been sent there to be 
recruited. 

Coincident with his removal to Kentucky Mr. Bel- 
mont purchased the English Derby winner St. Blaise and 




MAGNETIZER 



original Nursery Stud on Long Island. He expended 
large amounts of money on stables, fencing and drainage, 
and gave careful treatment to the enrichment of the land. 
The property, traversed bv never-failing streams, is 
well watered, and by a system of mains, water in 
abundance is conveyed to all the paddocks and horse 
boxes in the establishment. Upward of 400 acres of 
land are included in the farm, which, although not as 
large in extent as some others, has developed to a point 
of excellence where it is not surpassed by any other 
place of its kind in the United States. Extensive wood- 



gave him the place 01 honor as his premier stallion. 
With imported The Ill-Used, Potomac, Fiddlesticks, 
Kingfisher and others to supplement the work of the 
king of the harem and with some of the most valuable 
brood mares in the country, the Nursery Stud was thor- 
oughly well equipped. The completeness of the triumph 
that came to Mr. Belmont in subsequent years scarcely 
needs to be dwelt upon. The Nursery Stud became 
noted in a short time. Notwithstanding the excellent 
reputation that it had won while on Long Island, its 
Kentucky fame was vastly in excess of any that it had 



uid patches afford every convenience for the shelter of heretofore achieved. From the Kentucky establishment 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



year after year have come thoroughbreds who have car- 
ried all before them and who altogether have consti- 
tuted a regiment of tiie most successful performers 
known to the American turf in the closing decade or 
more of the century. 

It was an undoubted source of gratification to all 
broad-minded turfmen that Mr. Belmont did not pass 
away until he had been a witness of the full fruition of 
his large-minded enterprise. For a short time in the 
early eighties he had withdrawn from active participa- 
tion in racing, but after 1887 his colors were again seen 
upon all the principal race courses. From the beginning 
of his connection with the turf he adopted the principle 



Stakes and the Stevens Stakes. Other horses of his own 
breeding won this year: Lady Margaret, the Independ- 
ence and the Atlantic Stakes; Fides, the Clover Stakes 
and the Laurel Stakes; while Lady Primrose, She and 
Carnot were also winners, in the following year twen- 
ty-three horses carried the Belmont colors, and twenty- 
one of them were home bred. Out of a total amount of 
$I2S,635, which stood to the credit of the stable, its 
home bred representatives won $100,045. San Carlo 
stood at the head of the list with his victories in the 
Great American Stakes and the Foam Stakes, while at 
the same time he was second in the Futurity. Magnate 
won the Sapphire, the Autmnn and the Algeria Stakes; 




THE ILL-USED 



of breeding for himself and not for public sale. The 
best animals that he produced he always kept to carry 
the maroon and scarlet, and to win with his own breed- 
ing was always his highest ambition. After his return 
to the turf few of the horses that he ran were other than 
of his own breeding. About the only important excep- 
tions to this rule were Raceland and George Oyster. 

In 1888, twelve horses raced under his colors, ten ot 
them being home bred. His three-year old Prince 
Royal was the most successful member of his string, 
having to his credit victories in the Arrow Stakes, the 
Jerome Stakes, the Coney Island Derby, the Stockton 



Padishah, the Tremont Stakes; Fides, the Ladies' and the 
Time Test Stakes and the Croton Handicap; Zephrus, 
the Bronx Stakes and the Cape May Handicap; Belinda, 
the Riverdale Handicap and the Mermaid Stakes, and St. 
James the Seaside Stakes. 

Triumphs, even greater than in previous years, were 
achieved by the Nursery Stud representatives in 1890, and 
Mr. Belmont ran only one horse, Raceland, that was 
born outside of the Nursery Stud. His stable again 
headed the list of winning owners with $171,350, of 
which $6,040 was credited to Raceland. As two-year 
olds, Potomac was the best colt and La Tosca the best filly 



223 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



of that season. The cup of happiness of Mr. Behnont 
must have been well nigh filled when Potomac won the 
greatest two-year old event of the y^^ar, the Futurity 
Stakes, with another Nursery bred colt, Masher, running 
second in the same race. Potomac achieved almost an 
unbroken record, winning the Futurity, the Flatbush 
and the Red Bank Stakes, and being defeated in the 
Junior and Champion Stakes. La Tosca won the June, 
the Select, the Belles and the Fashion Stakes, and other 
races scarcely secondary in importance. Other animals 
in Mr. Belmont's stable won prominent events; St. 
Charles, the Juvenile Stakes; Fides, the Toboggan Slide 
Handicap, in which she created the six furlong record of 



the annals of our native turf or the turf of any other 
country have no parallel. The season would have been 
nothing but one long series of triumphs for the maroon 
and scarlet. It is not too much to say that scarcely one 
of the great two-year old prizes of the year would have 
gone to another stable, and it would have been the 
Belmont Stable first and the rest nowhere." Potomac, 
who had been the best two-year old colt and La Tosca 
the best two-year old filly, now in their three-year old 
form stood at the head of their respective classes. His 
Highness, St. Flonan and Victory were the best two- 
year old colts of the year, while Raceland was one of the 
verv best liandicap horses. The amount of money that 




NURSERY STUD 



ST. BLAISE 
I minute, 1O4 seconds; Her Highness, the Mermaid horses of his breeding who would have represented his 
Stakes and the Monmouth Oaks; Clarendon, the Trenton stable earned during the season reached the huge total ot 
Stakes; Amazon, the Gazelle Stakes, and Prince Royal $225,000, and it has been freely predicted that, had it not 



the Coney Island Stakes. 

Could Mr. Belmont have lived another year he would 
have reaped even richer rewards as a turfman. Dying 
immediately after the close of the season of 1890. it was 
not his privilege to know the full measure of phenomena! 



been for the disadvantages arising from the absence of 
his judgment in directing affairs, even that vast sum 
might have been increased. 

Upon the death of the senior Mr. Belmont it fell to the 
lot of his sons, Messrs. August Belmont, Oliver H. P. 



success that had crowned the Nursery Stud or the full and Perry Belmont, to maintain the family nameand repute 
value of his services to the American turf It has been upon the turf. The second Mr. August Belmont, in partic- 
well said that "if only Mr. Belmont's life had been ular, has taken the most active interest in racing and breed- 
spared, his stable would have been something for which ing. 'When the sale of the Nursery Stud occurred in 1891, 



224 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



he purchased sevemi of the lending horses that his father 
had owned, and made his appearance on the turf under 
the name of the Biemton Stable, the title being a memory 
of his student days at Harvard and an anagram of his 
own name. The important work that Mr. Belmont has 
done in reorganizing and directing Eastern turf affairs 
during the last few years has been treated fully in the 
preceding chapter. As the owner cf such horses as 
Henry of Navarre, one of the greatest champions of the 
present day; Hastings, Margrave, Merry Prince, Wood- 
bine, Floretta IV., Keenan, Don de Oro, Octagon, Lady 
Violet, Jack of Spades and others that have borne his 
colors to victorv in numberless events, he is recognized 



At the head oi the establishment stands the famous 
imported Kayon D'Or, who has contributed to the 
American turf one of the most valuable strains of foreign 
blood known in this generation. Next to Rayon D'Or 
stands Henry of Navarre, that brilliant son of Knight of 
Ellerslie, than whom there has been no more deservedly 
popular horse upon the turf in the present generation, 
and who will rank as one of the famous champions of 
the American turf of all time. Then there are Magneti- 
zer, Fiddlesticks, and Margrave, son of imported St. 
Blaise and Lady Margaret, all three of whom were bred 
by the senior Mr. Belmont, and have been long and 
notably identified with the Nursery Stud. 




NURSERY STUD 



POTOMAC 



as a racing man of the first rank. It has also long been 
his intention to encourage international racing, and with 
this end in view he has already laid the foundation of a 
representative American stable in the Old World. 
Having abandoned the use of the name of the Biemton 
Stable in racing, and making his entries under his own 
name, Mr. Belmont has thus restored to its place in con- 
temporary turf records a title that will always be honored 
by lovers of the blood horse. 

The Nursery Stud, of which the second Mr. August 
Belmont' is now the proprietor, has not failed to retain the 
glories that it acquired during the lifetime of its founder. 



The remaining stallion is Carino, who was foaled in 
1893, and bred by Mr. James B. Haggin. He is a 
son of imported Maxim out of Carina. His sire, by 
Musket out of Realization, was a grandson of Toxophi- 
lite and a daughter of West Australian, and also of 
Vespasian and Hopeful. Through his great grandsire. 
Toxophilite, he traces to Touchstone, Orville and Buz- 
zard, and through his great-grandam, daughter of West 
Australian, traces again to Touchstone and also to 
Whisker, Whalebone and Blacklock. Through his 
ffreat-grandsire, Vespasian, he is descended from Touch- 
stone, Irish Birdcatcher, Glencoe, Selim and Whisker, 



225 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



and through his great-grandam, Hopeful, he has the 
blood of Bay Middleton. Whalebone and Whisker. The 
dam of Carino was a daughter of Kingfisher and Carita. 
The matrons of the Nusery Stud are a royal household. 
Most of them are the produce of the establishment with 
which thev are connected, Mr. Belmont, like his father 
before him, being a firm believer in the results of his own 
breeding. First on the list stands Arnica by Sam Brown 
out of Belladonna. She was foaled in iSSq. Her sire 
was by General Rosseiu out of Bonanza. General 
RosseaLi was a son of Commodore and Naty Price. 
Commodore was by Caleb Quotem out of Mary Brown, 
his sire beino- bv Sir Peter Teazle bv Highflver hv Herod 



Stockwell and Braxey. Bellegarde is the dam of the 
bay colt Bell Punch and the bay colt Bellegrave, both by 
Badge. Felicia, the dam of Felix by Kingfisher; Feronia, 
St. Felix and Franciscan, by imported St. Blaise; Prince 
Felix by Prince Royal and Falernian and Felician, by im- 
ported Rayon D'Or is another one of the mares bred by 
the Honorable August Belmont. She was foaled by im- 
ported The 111-Used out of Felucca. Her dam was by 
Buccaneer out of Revival, Buccaneer, through his sire, 
being descended from Bay Middleton and Blacklock and 
through his dam from Trumpator, Beningbrough and 
Waxy. Revival, the dam of Felucca, traced through 
Newminster to Touchstone and Ti'umpator and through 



r?j>> 




NURSERy_STUD 



FIDES AND YEARLING 



and out of a daughter of imported Diomed. Through 
Mary Brown, daughter of Guilford and Vixen, Com- 
modore ran back in the next generation tc Revenue bv 
imported Trustee, and Pot-8-os by Eclipse. Naty Pr^e 
was of good American blood. Her sire. Cost Johnson, 
was by Boston out of Atalanta by Industry by Priam. 
First among the produce of Arnica is the brown filly. 
Actinism, by imported Rayon D'Or. 

Another famous mare of this stud is Bellegarde, who 
was bred by the senior Mr. Belmont and foaled in 1890. 
She is by imported St. Blaise out of Bella, who was by 
Fiddlesticks out of imported Bernice, a daughter of 



Irish Birdcatcher, 
one of imported 



her dam Qiii Vive to Blacklock, 
Whalebone and Lottery. Another 
Felucca's daughters, still in the Nursery Stud, is Feu Follet, 
who was foaled in 1875. She is a descendant of Lexing- 
ton through her famous sire. Kingfisher. Her career in 
the stud has been long and important. In 1879, she pro- 
duced the bay filly Madcap, by imported Matador, and 
since then has missed onlv three years. Her principal 
produce have been Falconer and Donna Solby imported 
Matador; St. Elmo, Ralph Black (Leapyear), Firefly and 
Dr. Garnet by imported The lll-Used; Feu de Joie 
(Mamie B.), Formosa, St. Florian and Firebrand by 



226 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



imported St. Blaise, and Pettish and pLilminate by im- 
ported Rayon D'Or. 

Other home bred matrons of this establishment are 
Fides by imported The Ill-Used out of Fillette; Flavia 
by imported St. Blaise out of Flavina; Flying Fish bv 
Kingfisher out of Florence M. ; Glory by imported The 
Ill-Used out of Mehallah; Lady Margaret by imported 
The 111-Used out of Lady Roseberry: Leopoldina by 
Prince Leopold (Doncaster) out of imported Leightona:St. 
Pauline by imported St. Blaise out of imported Patience; 
Semaris by imported St. Blaise out of Sultana, and 
Woodvine by Magnetiser out of Woodbine. 



one who hears his name. By reason of his succeeding 
to the mastership of the Nursery Stud, and by his excep- 
tional activity in turf affairs, the present Mr. August 
Belmont has been somewhat more in the public eye 
than his brothers. Nevertheless, the Honorable Perry 
Belmont and Mr. Oliver H. P. Belmont have both taken 
an active part in gentlemanly sports. The former, as 
one of the prime movers in the organization of the Turf 
Club, at Newport, in 1895, was associated with such 
gentlemen as Messrs. Robert Goelet, Frederick Bronson, 
John Jacob Astor and others of the same class. He was 
chosen to be one of the first governors of this club and 




NURSERY STUD 



LADY MARGARET AND YEARLING 



The imported mares are a royal lot. They include 
Belladonna by Hermit out of Bonnie Doon; Christmas 
Tree by Althotas (Rosicrucian) out of Merry Christmas; 
Clover by Macaroni out of Verdure; Decoy by Muncaster 
out of Ruse; Frimsall by Macaroni out of Evelina; Kate 
Allen by Barcaldine out of Katherme, and Merry Nellie 
by Barcaldine out of Gaiety. 

That spirit, which to such an eminent degree identi- 
fied the senior Mr. Belmont with the sporting spirit of 
his age, was transmitted to all his sons, as well as to the 



has otherwise been active in sporting affairs. Mr. 
Oliver H. P. Belmont has been less identified with racing 
than with other sports, having been most conspicuous 
as a yachtsman. He is a graduate from the Naval 
Academy, at Annapolis, and has seen active service as a 
lieutenant. He has, however, maintained a deep inter- 
est in the thoroughbred, having owned several good 
horses. He has also made ventures upon the English 
turf As an all around sportsman, he is a worthy repre- 
sentative of his family. 



u 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




228 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The owner of the Silver Brook Stud, Mr. Lucien O. 
Appleby, comes naturally by his interest in racing 
affairs. His predilection for sport was born in him, 
since he comes of an English family, and no one need 
even be reminded of the Englishman's natural inclina- 
tion toward sporting in its best manifestations, it is 
natural to expect that a man with English blood in his 
veins should show an exceptional interest in the thor- 
oughbred as a matter of inherited national pride, if noth- 
ing more, and Mr. Ap- 
pleby may be cited as 
another striking ex- 
ample of the truth of 
this proposition. The 
parents of Mr. Apple- 
by were of English 
origin. His father and 
his grandfather were 
the tlrst of the family 
to come to this coun- 
try, and they settled 
at Smithtield, R. I., 
where the master of 
the Silverbrook Stud 
was born April i6. 
1842. 

Mr. Appleby's con- 
nection with the turt, 
however, did not 
commence in his early 
years. Other business 
occupations engross- 
ed his attention and 
his devotion to racing 
affairs might never 
have been brought 
about had it not been 
through the accident 
of ill health. A severe 
attack of pneumonia 
had prostrated him, 
and his physician had 
earnestlyadvised him, 
as a measure toward 
complete restoration 
to health, to seek 
some outdoor occu- 
pation, especially suggesting that nothing would be 
more advantageous than an employment that should oped, an 

bring him more or less into association with horses, long experience with horses and his complete knowl- 
Mr. Appleby had already become interested in the noble edge of the best methods that have been devised for the 
animal, principally as a matter of recreation and of indul- care and successful breeding of the thoroughbred, 
gence from his exacting business pursuits, and, there- Mr. Appleby has a wide acquaintance with the lead- 
tore, the suggestion of his physician fell upon willing ing men of the contemporary turf and is himself one of 

229 




LUCIEN O. APPLEBY 

PROPRIETOR, THE SILVER BROOK STUD 



ears. He immediately turned his attention in that direc- 
tion and engaged in his new pursuit with all the ardor 
that had hitherto characterized his application to busi- 
ness. Naturally influenced by his New England associ- 
ations, his fiist ventures in the sporting world were m 
connection with trotters, for as is well known, the 
trotter has always maintained his superiority over the 
thoroughbred in public estimation in that section. Mr. 
Appleby purchased several good animals of this class 

and foi' three years, 
from 1862 to 1865, 
devoted himself al- 
most exclusively to 
them. In the last men- 
tioned year he became 
interested in the thor- 
oughbred, with whom 
he has since been 
identified. 

After several years 
of activity in various 
interests connected 
with the running turf 
he became the owner 
of the Silver Brook 
Stud, which is recog- 
nized as one of the 
most successful ol 
modern breeding es- 
tablishments in the 
North. The property 
is situated at Shrews- 
bury, N. J., and con- 
sists of some 1 18 acres 
of land. The appoint- 
ments of the place are 
all of the most mod- 
ern description. In 
the stables there are 
some 65 box stalls, 
while the paddocks 
a r e exceptionally 
roomy and supplied 
with running water. 
Acquired by Mr. Ap- 
pleby in 1890, the 
Silver Brook property 
has since then been extensively improved and devel- 
d as it now stands is the result of its owner's 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




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230 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



those who are best known to the general public in con- only one of the twenty-four matrons at Silver Brook, is 
nectioii therewith. His popularity with all classes is un- well entitled to the distinction she enjoys through the 
bounded, and he possesses, moreover, the reputation of fame other great son. She was foaled in 1883 at the eel- 
being an enthusiastic sportsman, which is shown not ebrated Nursery Stud, and was by imported The Ill- 
only by the scale upon which his breeding interests at Used out of Scarlett, a mare that on the side of her dam 
Silver Brook are conducted, but in the record of the ani- combined the blood of imported Glencoe with that of 
mals that have carried his colors on the track or that Kentucky and his father, the immortal Lexington, 
now ornament his stud. Imported The Ill-Used, though perhaps not favored by 
The horses he has owned include such valuable per- Mr. Belmont to the same extent that he favored others 
formers as Forrester, Jack of Hearts, Turco, Knight of among his high grade stallions, came from the very pick 
Hllerslie, Tristan, Oneko, Stockton, Almy, Diadem and of the Old World horses, being by Breadalbane out of 
Carnation, and many others who have all given the best Ellermire, and having for grandparents that remarkable 
account of themselves in racing. At the head of the sire Stockwell and the no less famous brood mare Blink 
Silver Brook Stud is Knight of Ellerslie and Moss Rose, Bonny. Moss Rose's sire, in fact, represents what the 
the sire and dam of Henry of Navarre, the acknowledged English turf has sagaciously called the " ready-money 
king of the turf and probably one of the best horses cross " in its perfection, while on the maternal side she 



ever seen in the country, a fact that invests Knight of 
Ellerslie with a remarkable degree of interest for all 
admirers of the purest and most perfect type of the 
modern running horse. This notable sire is a chest- 
nut of grand conformation and was foaled in 1881. 
His parentage was aristocratic, he being by Eolus out of 
Lizzie Hazelwood by Scathlock. Eolus was the sire of 
probably as many high class race horses as any stallion in 
the country, the number including Eole, Eon, St. Saviour, 
Elkwood, Eurus, Diablo, Russell, Morello, Eolian and 



belongs to the family which gave America its best 
horses up to the modern development of scientific 
breeding. Moss Rose also foaled Turk II., a frequent 
winner, and has produced several full brothers to the 
great Henry of Navarre, ol whom good results may be 
expected. The Huguenot, Ibaled in iHq^, has shown 
himself to be a very high class colt. 

Tristan is another stallion who is sustaining the repu- 
tation of the Silver Brook establishment by his achieve- 
ments in the stud. Foaled in 188s at the Elmendorf Stud, 



other equines. On the dam's side, too, the record tells of he was winner of the Thistle and the Average Stakes, 

families that were both speedy and productive. His and the Metropolitan, the Algeria and the Runnymede 

dam threw winners, Charley Dreux, Thomasia, Thorn- Handicaps. Winning in all 17 races, beingsecond in 21 

dale, Chauncev and Unicorn, while his second dam was and third in 8. his purses and stakes during his brilliant 

the famous brood mare War Song, the dam of Eole, career aggregated more than $92,000. His record of i 

Eon, Eolist, St. Saviour, Eolo and others. minute, 51 '2 seconds, for i 's miles, carrying 114 

Knight of Ellerslie maintained the high standing of pounds, made in the Metropolitan Handicap, when he 



his descent. He won the Preakness. the Army and 
Navy, and the Vernal Stakes, and a number of other 
races, and ran second to Panique in the Belmont. As a 
sire, however, he has covered himself with glory through 
having begotten such a noble animal as Henry of 
Navarre, the winner of 29 races out of 42 starts, in 
which he was unplaced on only two occasions, while 
his aggregate winnings in four seasons footed up 
$71,013. It is to be observed, however, that, overshad- 
owing as the fame of Henry of Navarre is, it should not 
cause us to overlook the other excellent horses whom 
his worthy sire has produced. Knight of Ellerslie's get 
include such winners as Herald, }. W. Brooks, Whist, 
Agnes H., Ruth Cleveland, Hazel, Knight, Trump, Sir 
Alfred, Ellsmere, Ellerdie Phaedra, Knight of Honor, 
Silver Brook, Knight of the Garter. Enchanter, Miss 
Prim, Nearest, The Huguenot, Sir Knight, Motor, and 
others. It may, indeed, be claimed that considering his 
opportunities, he has been as successful a sire of reliable 
animals as any in America. 
Moss Rose, the dam of Henry of Navarre, although 



defeated Tenny, is still unbeaten. Among the other 
rivals whom he conquered in his various races were 
Prince Royal, Tea Tray, Eurus. AmbLilance, Reporter, 
Eric, Oriflamme, Torso, Demuth, Senorita, Clarendon, 
Fitzjames, Diablo, Sir Dixon, Judge Morrow, Raceland, 
Los Angeles, Inspector B., Tournament and, in addition, 
a long list of other horses of no small reputation. 
Tristan is by imported Glenelg, the sire of Firenze. Los 
Angeles, Dry Monopole, Monitor, Louisette, Post Guard. 
Insolence, Little Minch and others of a correspondingly 
high quality. 

Tristan is the sire of Governor Griggs, Monroe Doc- 
trine, Trillo and others. The hitter's get have ap- 
peared on the track only since 189s. Among them 
are Albanian, winner of the Bouquet Stakes at Morris 
Park in 1896, and several other horses very well 
regarded. Tristan still has many years of usefulness 
before him in the stud, and it will be Mr. Appleby's 
constant desire that the mares he serves shall be 
of a grade calculated to insure successful results with 
the product. 



231 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




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232 



THE AMERICAN TURF 







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233 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




234 



I 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



As a type of the modern gentleman devoted to high- 
class sporting matters, Mr. Augustus Clason has been 
conspicuous for nearly a generation. A native of New 
York Citv. he has throughout his life been prominently 
identified with the business and social affairs of the 
metropolis. Mr. Clason is descended irom an old Con- 
necticut family, from which Clason's Point on Long Isl- 



racing, and although he has had common experience 
with all other turfmen in not always seeing the hoped-for 
success crowning his efforts, he has never been discour- 
aged, nor has he abated in the least his energetic labors. 
The spirit that animated his uncle also inspires him, and 
he keeps up to the high ideal in all racing affairs that 
were fixed by that eminent turfinan. Believing that no 



and Sound took its name. He was born in New York, greater service can be rendered to the cause of racing 

May 4, 184s. in the house of his grandfather. Mr. Reu- generally than by an intelligent and laborious attention to 

hen Withers. Being a nephew of the late Mr. D. D. the subject of breeding, he has engaged in that pursuit. 

Withers, Mr. Clason came naturally by his interest in Of late he has laid the substantial foundation for a breed- 



thoroughbred racing. 
His uncle's promi- 
nence in racing affairs 
naturally turned his 
attention in that di- 
rection, and even as 
a boy he began to 
give attention to the 
performances of the 
blood horse. While 
little more than a 
youth he became a 
gentleman rider, and 
his early experiences 
included a personal 
participation in many 
noteworthy events 
that distinguished the 
turf in the vicinity of 
New York during the 
decade or so that 
immediately followed 
the close of the Civil 
War. One of his par- 
ticular achievements 
in this period, and one 
that was long remem- 
bered in local racing 
circles, was the race 
that he won in the 
autumn of 187^ on Big 
Sandy. one of the good 
horses of that time. 

The love of the turf 
that thus began with 
Mr. Clason in his earl 
him. For more than 



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AUGUSTUS CLASON 

PROPRIETOR, MONMOUTH PARK STOCK FARM 



has never forsaken 
years he has been 



ly years 
twenty 

one of the prominent representatives of the gentle- 
men sportsmen of New Y'ork. whose presence and 
patronage exercise such a healthful influence on the 
sport, and to whom the contemporaneous turt is 



ing establishment that 
has already had a very 
pronounced influence 
through several of the 
thoroughbreds that it 
has produced, and 
that the owner is de- 
termined shall grow 
in extent, character 
and usefulness. 

For a ULimber of 
years Mr. Clason was 
interested in agricul- 
tural enterprises, and 
also gave attention to 
the breeding of trot- 
ting stock and mules. 
In these occupations 
he was eminently suc- 
cessful, but they never 
engaged his undi- 
vided effort as has the 
breeding'of thorough- 
breds. To the latter 
pursuit he has given 
a great deal of time, 
not only in the prac- 
tical management of 
breeding affairs, but 
also in the study of 
breeding methods. At 
the present time the 
Monmouth Park Stock 
Farm at Long Branch 
is foremost among his 
racing interests and commands, exclusively, what- 
ever of time he can take from purely commercial 
enterprises. The estate comprises some 40 acres of 
pasture and arable soil. There are pleasant turf 
memories attached to it, for it was originally the 
yearling sales stable connected with the Monmouth 



under such obligations of gratitude tor its present high Park Racing Association. Naturally, it became iden- 
standing. He has been untiring in his devotion to tified with Mr. D. D. Withers. As a matter of fact 



235 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




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236 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



it was an adjunct to Mr. Withers' other racing enter- 
prises. Although comparatively small in extent, the 
Monmouth Parl< Stock Farm is thoroughly well equipped, 
while its proximity to New York City is not the least 
important element in its attractiveness. Its stable is a 
commodious structure, 410 feet long by 80 feet wide, 
and has 104 box stalls. In connection with the building 
there is also an exercise track that is a fraction over five- 
eighths of a mile. The stable is always well occupied, 
for outside horses are taken to board, while the fact that 
Mr. Clason's principal stallion Pactolus is available to the 
public attracts many brood mares there during the season. 

Pactolus is a brown horse, who was bred by Mr. 
Withers, and was highly valued bv him. He was foaled 
in 1889. His sire was by the celebrated Uncas, own 
brother to Wanderer bv Lexington. The dam of Uncas 
was Coral by Vandal, who was the sire of such noted 
thoroughbreds as Chieftain, Sorcerer, Laggard, Dun- 
boyne and others. Uncas has one of the fastest i -^s 
miles on record, 2 minutes, 21^/4 seconds. Cadence, the 
dam of P.ictolus, was also the dam of Orator, Jack 
McDonald, Trill. Cascade, and other good ones. She 
was by imported Macaroon out of imported Castagnette, 
who was also the dam of Casino and others. Castag- 
nette was bv Marsvas, son of Orlando by Touchstone, 
and her dam was Cachuca by Voltigeur, who was 
the sire of imported Billet, Vedette, the sire of Galopin, 
Speculum and others. Further back on the side of his 
dams, Uncas traced to Ayacanora by Birdcatcher; Poca- 
hontas bv Glencoe, who was the dam of Stockwell, 
Rataplan, King Tom and others: one of the most noted 
and potent racing families in the world from which, in 
the direct female line, such horses as Sir Peter, Trainp, 
Velocipede, Vermouth, Glaucus, Flatcatcher, Rayon 
[TOr, Flying Dutchman, and many other noted ones, 
besides those already referred to, have been descended. 

As a race horse Pactolus had a first-class reputation. 
As a two-year old he won the Red Bank Stakes at Mon- 
mouth Park, 3/f of a mile, in i minute, i6^ seconds, 
beating a good field of colts. He then won the Free 
Handicap Stakes at Monmouth Park, ^i of a mile, in i 
minute, 14 seconds, upon a heavy track with a good 
field behind him. Then he ran second in the Tyro 
Stakes, beating Fremont, Airplant, Hell Gate and others, 
and third to Merry Monarch and Victory in the Atlantic 
Stakes at Jerome Park, -^4' of a mile, in 1 minute, iS sec- 
onds. As a three-year old he won the Cape May Handi- 
cap, i?8 miles, in i minute, S4/4 seconds; the Septem- 
ber Stakes, i->8 miles, and the Oriental Handicap, ij^. 
miles, in 2 minutes, 1 1 seconds. He always traveled in 
good company and in this year defeated such first-class 
runners as Captain Brown, Fremont, Westchester, York- 
ville Belle, The Pepper, Pickpocket, Lamplighter, Fide- 
lio and Raceland. 



As a four-year old he did not start, but as a five-year 
old he ran second to Kingston in a ^ mile sweepstakes 
in 1 minute, 17 seconds, beating two others; won a 
sweepstakes ^ of a mile, in i minute, 17 seconds, beat- 
ing My Gyps, Charade and three others, and won a 
purse, "s of a mile, in i minute, 3334 seconds, over a 
heavy track, beating four others. Since 1895, he has 
been at the head of the stud at the Monmouth Park 
Stock Farm. Besides this notable sire of runners, Mr. 
Clason owns the following brood mares: Blackey by 
Warv/ick out of Nana; Golden Phoebus by Bullion out 
of Scissors; White Label by Dry Monopole out of Ban 
Flag; Stonenellie by Stonehenge out of Nell; Aria by 
Ventilator out of Pouch; Blandona by Longfellow out of 
Blanche J. ; Miss Belmont by Prince Royal out of im- 
ported Heroine; Heritiere by Sensation out of Heiress; 
Nisquanona by Macaroni out of War Paint, and Syrinx 
by Eolus out of Lady Grace. The last mentioned mare 
has just come to the stud from her racing career. 

While Mr. Clason's breeding and racing stable is not 
large, it is decidedly select in its composition and has 
done well on the race course. It is the owner's ambi- 
tion that horses of his own breeding shall make his 
colors more prominent in the near future and in that re- 
spect he is following the tradition of his distinguished 
uncle. His string in 1897 comprised Leonore, a brown 
filly by Darebin out of La Favorita, Syrinx by Eolus out 
of Lady Grace, a beautiful filly by Ludwig out of Blan- 
dona, Cassette, a brown filly by Uncas out of Castalia, 
and Alicia by Daniel out of Lady Alice. Cassette was 
the main dependence of the stable in 1896 and again in 
1897. In 1896, she won upward of $5,000 for her owner. 
In 1897 her best achievement was winning the Ford- 
ham High Weight Handicap for two-year olds and 
upward at Morris Park in October, over the Withers 
mile. She carried 102 lbs. and was ridden by Bergen, 
covering the course in i minute, 43 seconds. The race 
was won driving by a head, with Typhoon II. second 
and Thomas Cat third. 

A notable figure in connection with Mr. Clason's 
establishment is Mr. William H. Antonidus. Born in 
Leedsville, N. J., in 1865, he entered the establishment 
of Mr. D. D. Withers when he was a boy of eleven 
years of age. There he remained for sixteen years, ad- 
vancing to positions of trust and responsibility and be- 
coming one of the most valuable members of Mr. 
Withers' staff. Upon the death of Mr. Withers it 
was natural for him to transfer his allegiance to Mr. 
Clason, and with the exception of a short period, 
which he spent with Col. Jacob Ruppert, Jr. , and Mr. 
Walter Rollins, he has maintained his connection with 
Mr. Clason uninterruptedly. For five years he has been 
Mr. Clason's trainer and in charge of the breeding estab- 
lishment. 



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One of Kentucky's most celebrated stud farms has 
been, and now is, the McGrathiana. It consisted orig- 
inally of a property of nearly soo acres, located about 
three miles from Lexington on the Newtown Turnpike. 
Adjoining the Nursery Farm of Mr. August Belmont, it 
is situated in what may well be called the heart of the 
blue grass region. McGrathiana was founded by that 
well known and lamented turfman, Mr. Henry Price 
McGrath, from whom the place took the name that it 
has retained even down to the present day. In the 
early days of the establishment such famous racers as 
Aristides, Tom Bowling, Susan Ann, Aaron Pennington, 
Chesapeake, Calvin, Leonard, Thora and Passaic were 
connected with it. There were few better horses in his 
day than Tom Bowling, 
who beat everything in 
his class, while Thora 
was a filly that has never 
been surpassed, even if 
equaled, by the fastest 
of her sex in this coun- 
try. The fame of Mc- 
G r a t h 1 a n a spread 
throughout the country, 
and it assumed a place 
in the breeding world 
second to none other 
of its kind. The grand 
old mansion of the estate 
with its massive col- 
umns was a noted archi- 
tectural structure, and 
there its owner delighted 
in the open hand of hos- 
pitality. 

After Mr. McGrath had 
passed away, the farm 
was purchased by Mr. 
Milton Young, and from 
being a private breeding 
establishment, it became 
a high class public stud, 

from whence some of the most famous yearlings oi 
the last decade of the century have come forth. Mr. 
Young is a native Kentuckian, having been born in 
Union County. He began his racing experience at 
an early age, in fact long before he had passed out of 
his teens, and has risen from the humblest occupations 
connected with the turf, until now he is one of its most 
important factors in this country. Before he became 
the owner of McGrathiana he was well known on the 
racing field. Such horses as Beatitude, Bancroft, Boot- 
jack and others often carried his blue and white jacket 
to the front in many a hard fought contest. East and 



West. As a turtman he was pre-eminently successful 
and had the happy faculty of bringing out strong horses 
at very opportune times. Many of the famous stakes of 
the American turf fell to him, and no stables represented 
upon the Eastern courses were ever more popular or 
achieved a greater degree of merited success. In one 
season he won 54 out of the io_5 races in which his 
stable contested. 

As master of McGrathiana, he not only succeeded in 
maintaining the high reputation that the establishment 
had acquired under his predecessor, but has even added 
greater distinction to it. During the few years that he 
has given his attention to breeding, he has attained to a 
position in that particular branch of turf business second 

to none other of this 
generation. Nor has his 
success been achieved 
only as a breeder. He 
has been recognized as 
one of the leading and 
most influential spirits in 
the racing world of to- 
day, especially in the 
South and West. The 
high esteem in which he 
is held by his associates 
has been repeatedly 
shown by his election 
to office in connection 
with turf affairs and in 
the dependence that is 
placed upon his judg- 
ment in the many dilTi- 
cult questions that arise 
in administration. For 
several years he was 
president of the Western 
Turf Congress and was 
also president of that rep- 
resentative racing organ- 
ization, the Kentucky 
Association. He has also 
been called upon to render valuable practical assistance 
at racing meetings as presiding judge of the Cincinnati 
Jockey Club meetings at Oakley Park and the meetings 
of the Kentucky Association at Louisville. The Mc- 
Grathiana farm now contains i,oso acres of the best 
blue grass pastures. The stables and other accommoda- 
tions for the equine guests of the proprietor are of the 
most approved character and contain over 300 box stalls. 
The stallions who have stood at McGrathiana have 
included some of the most famous that have graced the 
American turf. Their names make a long and imposing 
list, on which appear such notable ones as Onondaga, 




MILTON YOUNG 
PROPRIETOR, THE McQRATHIANA STUD 



243 



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244 



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Strathinore, Lamplighter, Hanover, Duke of Montrose, neer. She was a winner and the dam ol' i^illage. Maid 

imported Pirate of Penzance, Sobranje, Longstreet, Marian, Warren Hastings and Lord Clive. The dam of 

Potomac, imported Rapture and many others. Poto- Plunder was a sister to /Egis by Defence, and out of 

mac, it will be remembered, was one of the best sons of Soldier's Joy by The Colonel, and the pedigree goes 

the great St. Blaise, and Sobranje was by imported Mor- back through Galatea by Amadis, Paulina by Sir Peter 

temer out of Spinaway. As famous as any one in this and Pewet by Tandem, to a mare by Bustler. Pirate of 

lot is Onondaga, who still stands in service, handed Penzance was a winner in his two, three, four and (ive- 



down to the present owner from his former proprietor. 
Onondaga has had a sensational career. As a race horse 
he ranked in the first class, as the sketch of his life, 
which we have elsewhere given, clearly demonstrates. 
During the latter years of his life he has been afflicted 
with blindness, as was the great Lexington before him, 
yet he has maintained his usual spirit and gameness. In 
fact, he has acquired a considerable reputation for 
viciousness. At times in his life it has been found 
necessary to enclose him in stoutly protected paddocks, 
while it has been scarcely safe for any one to approach 
him, save his owner and familiar attendants. His suc- 
cess in the stud has been not less notable than his career 
on the race course, and through his famous progeny he 
has transmitted to contemporaneous thoroughbreds 
some of the best qualities of his sire, imported Leaming- 
ton, and other noted ancestors. In one year alone, iSgi, 
when he headed the list of winning sires at McGrathiana, 
he was represented by 60 performers, first among whom 
was Curt Gunn, others being Busteed, Ambulance, 
Chimes, Portlaw, Oregon, Once Again. Patti Rosa, On 
the Lea, Orinoco, L. J. Knight and others. 

For several years 'Strathmore, previous to his death, 
stood at the head of the McGrathiana stud. In a single 
season the son of Waverly leaped into prominence and 
took a foremost place as one of the best sires of the 
period. To have two such great colts as Strathmeath 
and Balgowan in his first season was the making of the 
reputation of Strathmore, a reputation that has steadily 
increased as the years have gone by. Duke of Montrose 
was for a long time one of the successful stallions of the 
McGrathiana. He was by Waverly out of Kelpie by im- 
ported Bonnie Scotland. His sire was a son of imported 
Australian and imported Cicily Jopson by Weatherbit. 
Through Kelpie he traced to the celebrated Levity 
family, and thus belongs to a family that has produced 
more winners than any in the Stud Book. As a sire he 
has established a great name for himself being the sire 
of Montrose (winner of the Kentucky Derby), and other 
important races; Linlithgow, Retrieve, Promenade. 
Spinalong, Monterey, Skedaddle, Pocahontas, Howard 
Mann and more than a score of other good ones. 

Imported Pirate of Penzance, who was foaled in 1882, 
has long been another of the successful stallions of this 
stud. He was the son of imported Prince Charlie, who 
was by Blair Athol out of Eastern Princess by Surplice. 
The dam of Pirate of Penzance was Plunder by Bucca- 



year old forms. As a sire, he has produced Bandit, 
Pirate King, Bob Carter, Lucy Belle, Dawn, Penzance, 
Flushing, Joe Clark, Rondo, Kenstons and numerous 
other good ones. 

A first-class race horse, Macduff, by imported Maca- 
roon, son of Macaroni and Songstress by Chanticleer, 
has also been a successful sire. His dam was Jersey 
Lass by imported King Ernest; she was the dam of 
Ayrshire Lass, Umilta, Ellen H., Sapphire and others. 
His grandam was Jersey Belle by imported Australian, 
and the dam of Favorite, Macbeth, Kingcraft and others. 
His great-grandam was Aerolite by Lexington, she being 
also the dam of Fellowcraft, Rutherford, Spendthrift, 
Miser and others. Macduff was the winner of the 
Champagne Stakes as a two-year old, and in his three- 
year old form won three races, after which he was 
placed in the stud. His get have included Adelbert, 
Macbeth II., who won the Kentucky Derby : Dollikins, a 
good stake winner; Dundee, Harrison, Preakness Lass, 
Dunbarton, Ruby Royal, Kentucky Lady, Charter Oak 
and many others. 

That excellent race horse, Favoi', was long held in 
high esteem by Mr. Young. He was a compact and 
sturdy son of Pat Malloy, and much resembled his grand- 
sire, the immortal Lexington. Imported Woodlands 
was one of the earlier inmates of the McGrathiana Stud. 
He was a good horse of the typical English thorough- 
bred style. He gave to the turf that clever racer Cracks- 
man, and also Servitor, who was a very good colt. He 
was also the sire of the excellent filly Innovation. Mr. 
Young has also had imported Simple Simon, imported 
Fortissimo, imported Pessara, and imported White 
Jacket. Three other good American stallions have been 
bred to his mares. First, there is Fonso,who was a first- 
class race horse and a winner of the Kentucky Derby, 
the Phcenix Hotel Stakes, and other important races. 
The get of Fonso includes Ben Eder, Appomattox, Fore- 
runner, Forest Belle, Freedom, Contest, Prince Henry 
and numerous others. With him has also been Trouba- 
dour, one of the best horses that has run in this decade, 
the winner of the Suburban, Sensation, Criterion, St. 
Louis, St. Leger, Ocean and Monmouth Cup, a special 
match with Miss Woodford, and many other races. As 
a sire, he will be remembered for such distinguished get 
as La Cigale, Daily America, Lookout, Too Quick, Port- 
ugal and others. The third of this remarkable trio of 
sires is George Kinney, who won the Flash, Tennessee, 



245 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Kentucky, Saratogn, Hopeful, July Withers, Belmont, 
Jerome, Lorillard, Kenner, Dixie, Breckenridge, and 
numerous other races. He is the sire of Flyaway, Lilly 
Kennev, Greyson, Blossom, Jack Martin, Crusader, 
Metropole, and numei'ous others. 

The get of the stallions who have stood in the 
McGrathiana Stud have been pre-eminently successful. 
The tirst two-year olds of Hanover came out in 1894, 
and the winners from among them reached the imprece- 
dented number of twenty-one. That year his get won 
$65,175, and in 1895, 1896 and 1897 he stood at the head 
of the winning sires. In 189s, he had fifteen two-year 
old winners, in 1896, nine, and in 1897, nineteen. In 

1895, his get won $106, cos; in 1896, $84. 74s, and in 
1897, $110,140. Sti'athmore had two-year old winners 
as follows: in 1 89?, seven; in 1894, six: in 1S95, twelve; 
in 1896, ten, and in 1897, fourteen. In 1893, his get won 
$52,879; in 1894, $41,914: in 1895, $45,445; in 1896, 
$52,3S3; in 1897, $33,614. The get of Onondaga have 
been as eminently successful as those of any other stal- 
lion in modern times. In 1889, they won $5S, IS5; in 1890 
ovcr$5i,ooo; in 1892, $107,500; in 1893, $100,054, and in 
1894, $58,079. Up to January, 1898, they had won over 
$600,000. The get of the Duke of Montrose won, in 
1893, $58,316; in 1894, $56,320; in 1895, $25,750; in 

1896, $i8,si2, and in 1897, $25,184. in 1893, he had six 
two-year old winners; in 1894. five; in 1895, six, and in 
1896, one. Lamplighter made his first season in 189O, 
and his first yearlings, who were by Belle of the High- 
lands, Glidaga, Hair Belle. Lida Stanhope and Princess 
Lorraine, were ready for sale in the season of 1898. The 
first offspring of imported Pirate of Penzance came out m 
1893, when ten of them were in the winning two-year 
old class, in 1895, he had twelve two-year old winners, 
in 1896, ten, and in 1897 eight. The winnings of his get 
amounted to $19,980 in 1893, and ran up to $40,034 in 
1896, and $44,999 in 1897. in 189s, the get of Macduff 
won $19, 31s; in 1896, $8. 44s, and in 1897,113.034. 
Early in the season of 1898 Satsuma alone won $8,000. 

Among the many celebrated dams of the McGrathiana 
have been several who have been identified with the 
establishment, both under the administration of its 
founder and also of its present proprietor, while others 
have only been inmates of its stables during the regime 
of Mr. Young. Prominent among the former have been 
Maria by imported Bonnie Scotland, the dam of Once 
Again and of Ambulance, both by Onondaga, Patti, the 
dam of Montrose, Reprieve and Promenade; Perhaps, 
the dam of Dilemma, Chance, Doubt and Reckon; Beati- 
tude, the dam of Bootblack and Blessing; Sophronia, the 
dam of Curt Gunn, and Nellie Booker, the dam of Ten 
Booker, Oarsman, Bootmaker and The Sheriff. These 
and many others have passed away into tlie heaven of 
all good thoroughbreds. To-day their successors are a 



half hundred in number, all of them of distinguished 
lineage, while many of them have done good service, 
both on the race course and in the stud. A description 
of a few of these representative matrons and a setting 
forth of their royal descent will be found interesting, 
especially as giving a good idea of the general character 
of Mr. Young's establishment. 

Keepsake, who was by Onondaga, is the dam of Val- 
kyrie and Toby Smith. She was the daughter of Kelp, 
who was by imported Strachino. Her dam was a win- 
ner and the dam of Onaway, Luella B., Ondawa, Up- 
ward, Sloe and Kempie. The dam of Kelp was Kelpie 
by imported Bonnie Scotland; she was the dam of Ova- 
tion, Overture, Janet, Duke of Montrose, Annette, As- 
trakhan and Miss Austine. The dam of Kelpie was a 
sister to Ruric by imported Sovereign, and the dam of 
the sister to Ruric was the famous Levity by imported 
Trustee. Another of the McGrathiana matrons is Dilem- 
ma by Onondaga out of Perhaps, who was by imported 
Australian and the dam of Perplex, Reckon, Chance, 
Hardly, Doubt, Probability and others. The dam of 
Perhaps was Mishap by imported Knight of St. George 
and her grandam was Lorette by imported Sovereign. 
Mishap was the dam of Crockford, Misfortune, Misdeal, 
Sophy and others, while Lorette was a winner and the 
dam of Scharette and others. 

Flying Witch by Duke of Montrose is the dam of Eu- 
lalia. She was a daughter of Ten Witcn (sister to Car- 
dinal McCloskey), who was by Ten Broeck out of Wa- 
terwitch by Asteroid. The dam of Waterwitch was im- 
ported Weatherwitch by Weatherbit; she was the dam 
of Fonso, Little Mack, Weathercock, Witchcraft and 
others. Miss Baden, who has been bred to Hanover, is 
a half sister to Heleva, who was the dam of Pocahontas 
and Ethelinda, both of whom have been good winners. 
She is by Baden Baden; her dam Heva was by imported 
.Moitemer and a winner and half-sister to the game 
McWhirter. The dam of Heva was Ontario by im- 
ported Bonnie Scotland. She was a capital winner and 
the dam of such good ones as Kilburn, McWhirter, 
Lizzie McWhirter, Hercules, Hypasia, Rancocas and 
McKeever. 

Space will admit only of the merest mention of some 
of the other fine matrons of the McGrathiana Stud. The 
list includes Philura by Jils Johnson, out of Zelica by 
Virgil, her dam being Asia by imported Australian; Jer- 
sey Girl by imported King Ernest out of Jersey Belle by 
imported Australian; imported King Cup by Kingcraft 
out of Nutbeam by Lord of the isles; Astrakhan by 
Strathmore out of Kelpie by imported Bonnie Scotland; 
Vera by King Alfonso out of Veritas by Lexington; Ex- 
pectation by Hindoo out of Sophronia by Ten Broeck; 
La Juive by imported Mortemer out of Judith by im- 
ported Glenelg, the dam of Judith being Madam Dudley 



246 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



by Lexington out of imported Britannia; Princess Lor- union was Strathnieath, one of the very best two-year 

raine by Iroquois out of Bric-a-brac by imported Bonnie olds of 1890. 

Scotland; Extra by Duke of Montrose out of Lizzie S. by Referring to this experience on one occasion, Mr. 

Wanderer, and descended from Leamington, Lexington, Young said: "These two incidents only go to prove 

Glencoe, Levity, Trustee and Tranby and many others of my theory that you must breed the best to the best in 

early distinction. order to procure a race horse. No man can control or 

Thoroughly practical in all his ideas, Mr. Young gives change the laws of nature. The shrewdest and most 



to McGrathiana the benefit of long experience and of 
careful studv of thoroughbred pedigrees and capabilities. 
His clear judgment of the good equalities of the horses 
that come under his eye has given him unusual success, 
and there are few men in the business who so rarely 
make mistakes in their breeding operations. He is in no 
sense a theorist, or a believer in the favorable possibili- 
ties of chance. He studies everything carefully, gives 
the closest attention to all the points, good and bad, of 
the horses that he brings together, and is not often at 
fault in divining the results. His motto has always 
been " To produce the best, breed the best together," 
and he has adhered steadfastly to this principle, which 
may be fairly considered as one of the fundamental 
causes of his success. Sometimes he has apparently 
departed from this rigid rule, but, after all. the departure 
has been more apparent than real. Two instances in 
particular are cited as bearing upon this point. 

Mr. Young owned and trained the mare Patti. She 
was raised in Illinois and not broken until she was two 
years old, and it was then only with the greatest diffi- 
culty that she could be shod. Her owner was afraid to 
stint her to Onondaga, for fear of possible injury to that 
valuable stallion. So he resolved to play for lower 
stakes and bred the mare to Duke of Montrose, for which 
horse he had at that time less regard than he afterward 
acquired for him. The ultimate result of this almost 
haphazard union was Retrieve, Montrose and Monterey. 
Here then was, as Mr. Young has claimed, a complete ex- 
emplification of the value of his theory, for he holds that 
the union of fJuke of Montrose and Patti was most cer- 
tainly an instance of breeding the best together, even 



successful breeder in the world was Lord Falmouth. 
Look at the results he achieved by breeding the best to 
the best; and his method has succeeded fully as well with 
other breeders who followed his lead. 1 myself believe 
in breeding for the market. Breeders cannot afford to ex- 
periment or theorize; the world doesn't stop while they 
sit down to figure out their theories, and they are liable 
to be left at the post. If I owned the O.iks winner in 
England and also her own sister, do you know what 1 
should do .^ Well, I should breed the Oaks winner to 
the Derby winner, if I could get him, and sell the 
sister." 

Several years ago Mr. Young was asked whether he 
did not believe that chance figures largely in the pur- 
chasing and owning of thoroughbreds. There was a 
good deal of philosophy and more of solid experience in 
his answer, which probably holds as good now as when 
it was given. His reply was, " It does and it does not, 
and I am going to explain what I mean by relating a lit- 
tle incident which dates as far back as my yearling sale 
of 1889. You know Early Blossom was sold in my lot 
hat year, and when she was led into the ring I asked 
Mr. Easton to give it out on my authority that the filly 
was a confirmed cribber. The consequence was that 
she brought only $300, and Jim McCormick got her. 
Well, shortly after she was cut down in 1890, I met 
Mr. McCormick and told him I regretted the accident, 
adding that Early Blossom had certainly served him 
well. 'Yes,' he said, '1 only bought the filly because 
you had it announced that she was a cribber, and 
because I have had great success with cribbers.' Now, 
would you say that Mr. McCormick was favored only 



though, at the time, the good quality of the Duke of by chance with Early Blossom } What he said was very 



Montrose may not have been fully apparent. 

Another instance in Mr. Young's career still further 
illustrates this point. For two seasons Flower of Meath 
was bred to Onondaga, but without success. The 
master of McGrathiana was now face to face with the 



gratifying, indeed, to me, for it bore out my interpreta- 
tion of what the breeder and seller owes the public. He 
must leave nothing to be understood. Every defect, 
however trifiing, should be brought out before the sale 
is made or bidding has begun. Now, on the other 



possibility that the mare might never be of any value to hand, in order to show you that there are two sides to 



him and he decided that it was inadvisable to further 
sacrifice the services of so valuable an animal as Onon- 
daga, a horse whose merit had by this time become 
known to the racing world. With his practical way 
of looking at matters, he concluded to try Strathmore 
with Flower of Meath, since Strathmore, notwithstand- 
ing his good promise, was as yet an unknown quantity 
and might never be worth anything. The result of this 



every question, and which, when joined together, make 
but one in reality, so far as the honest seller is con- 
cerned, when Strathmeath was put up for sale, 1 got Mr. 
Easton to announce that I would bet $3,000 the colt 
would win more money than any other sold, or to be 
sold, that could be named. So you see that both Early 
Blossom and Strathmeath turned out very well for 
my announcements." 



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A veteran tLirtnian, Mi'. Samuel Trowbridge has enjoyed 
an exceptionally wide experience, being a successful 
own^, a trainer of reputation and a breeder of 
thoroughbreds upon advanced modern principles. He 
was born in 1S44, near Newport, Vermillion County, 
Ind., and from his earliest years was familiar with 
horses and imbibed a knowledge of the two great 
arts of breeding and training. He had already attained 
a mastery of the subject when in 1871 he formally 
adopted the turf as the object of his life business, 
beginning with a string of horses which he had 
carefully trained and which he raced at the Western and 
Southern tracks, winning many purses and stakes. From 
that time foiward he has been prominent among the 
owners of the country and his stable colors, pink jacket 
and cap, are emblems of many well deserved victories at 
all the great courses of the country. 

In reviving cjuarter racing particularly he not only made 
a great reputation in the turf world, but was strik- 
ingly successful, winning neaily every one in which he 
engaged. Indeed, he has made some of the greatest 
matches of this character ever seen in this country, either 
as to the amount of the stakes or the quality of the horses 
engaged in them. In the class of contests JList referred 
to, as well as in his entire career upon the turf, he has 
been noted for the boldness and magnitude of his oper- 
ations and his sportsmanlike attitude under all circum- 
stances. The confidence with which he acts is. however, 
based largely upon his Liniivaled knowledge of horses 
and of their preparation. He gives his own careful atten- 
tion to the training of the four-footed favorites that bear 
his colors, and the principal credit for the performances 
of the horses in his stable that have been victorious on 
so many interesting occasions is unquestionably due to 
his personal skill in directing their training. At the same 
time, he has also surrounded himself with a capable corps 
of lieutenants, whose work admirably supplements the 
effoits and excellent judgment of their employer. As a 
breeder Mr. Trowbridge has been conspicuously success- 
ful. To a profound knowledge of the underlying prin- 
ciples of breeding he adds a sagacious liberality and a 
constant desire to improve his facilities. He has ever 
been on the lookout for available material for his stud, 
one of his most notable purchases having been made in 
i88t, when he secured the stallion Alinade. which, with 
the addition of some choice brood mares of high breed- 
ing, raised his establishment to the rank of one of the 
most important in the North. 

Mr. Trowbridge's establishment at Belle Mead, N. ].. 



help, and so on, are ample in proportions, and are maiu- 
tained in pei'fect condition. Ti'uly scientific principles in 
breeding govern the conduct of this stud, and many of Mr. 
Trowbridge's methods are original ideas of his own. 
Of the noted animals which have found their home in 
Mr. Trowbridge's establishment the first place must be 
given to the stallions, which include such well-known 
sires as OKema by Reform out of Maggie B B .and Dou 
Jose. From a breeder's standpoint the mares are all that 
could be desired. The list includes such dams as imported 
Nightingale, imported Cressid. imported Ochone, Juliet 
M, Hattie Trowbridge. Goldie. Ada Lambert (the dam of 
Queenie Trowbridge, Capulin. Florence and King Sam). 
Sarah Hall. Murt, Chickory and many others. 

In the quality and the performances of the animals it 
has foaled, the Trowbridge farm does not yield to 
many similar establishments in America. Only a par- 
tial list can be given, but it contains the names of 
horses that have made their mark on the history of the 
turf. Among them are dueenie Trowbridge, who as a 
four-year old won $100,000 for her owner in one race, 
and made a record on which any breeder might well afford 
to pride himself. Others of note which first saw the 
light here are Al Orth, Jack Allen. Queen Mab, Florence, 
Lady Mary. King Sam. Maudie Trowbridge. No Remark 
and a considerable number of other horses which have 
developed into satisfactory winners and performers of 
more than ordinary merit. At the same time it must be 
noted that Mr. Trowbridge does not belong to the class 
of horsemen who are satisfied with their possessions. 
On the contrary, he is a close student of the performance 
of horses, the characteristics developed by various strains 
and is a judicious purchaser of blooded stock from other 
establishments for the purpose not only of enriching his 
breeding stud, but of reinforcing his racing stable. 

It has often been said by the numerous friends and ad- 
mirers of Mr. Trowbridge that everything he touches 
turns to success. This would indeed be the impression 
derived from a survey of his record during the quarter of 
a century that he has been identified with the racing 
world and the breeding of the thoroughbred horse. In 
fact, it is to be regretted that the brief space at our com- 
mand restricts the account of a career that has been filled 
with interesting and even exciting details. Mr. Trow- 
bridge has been a factor in American racing so long and 
has been identified with events of such importance in 
this connection that his full history would give reminis- 
cences of nearly all the notabilities, human and equine, 
that our turf has seen for nearly a generation. It can only 
is most advantageously situated in respect to the spe- be said here that throughout his career he has ever 
cially important primary requisites of climate, soil and exhibited a conservatism that has been a valuable assist- 
water. The stables are of modern construction and ance in his success, and that he has always preserved his 
contain accommodations for 100 head of horses, while position by a strict adherence to legitimate methods, while 
all the necessary outbuildings, the cottages for the his integrity has been ever proverbial. 

249 



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250 



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Coming from a Western laniily that lor several gen- 
erations has been conspicuously identified with race 
horses, Mr. H. Eugene Leigh has been one of the most 
notable figures upon the turf in recent years. He was 
born at Taylorsville, Christian County, 111., August 2S. 
i860. Central and Southern Illinois has always been 
noted as a great horse section of the country and has 
held an interest in racing from the time of its earliest 
settlement. It is near enough to Kentucky to have 
early felt the turf influence emanating from that home of 
the thoroughbred. Qiiar- 
ter racing was one of the 
common forms of sport 
thereabouts, and for a 
generation or more was 
quite as popular as it 
ever was in the South 
in the old colonial days. 
Speedy animals, espe- 
cially trained for such 
short contests, were held 
in high favor, and races 
between them were a 
favorite local pastime. 
Everybody indulged in 
these sports, and it was 
the height of the ambi- 
tion of every youngster, 
as soon as he was able 
to maintain his seat on a 
horse, to have a mount. 

Before he had fully 
entered his teens, Mr. 
Leigh had achieved a 
substantial reputation as 
a rider. He had a nat- 
ural gift for horses and 
from his constant asso- 
ciation with them ac- 
quired a knowledge 
more lull and more re- 
liable than it is the for- 
tune of many men to 
have even through a 
long lifetime. At an age 

when most boys are studying their pi'imers he made his 
first start in trading horses, and when he was only 
twelve years of age, such was the confidence placed in 
his ability and good judgment that his father, who was 
an extensive dealer, sent him all the way from Illinois 
to Buffalo, N. Y., with a string of horses to sell. It 
is needless to say that he was fully successful in executing 
this commission. 

In 1873, when he was only thirteen years of age. Mr. 



Leigh entered upon his racing experience. He started 
at the foot of the ladder, being engaged as exercise boy 
for Mr. William Emmet, and the experience gained in 
this and similar positions that he occupied for a year or 
two undoubtedly gave him a substantial foundation for 
his future great success. With Mr. Emmet's stable he 
remained for a single year and then went out as an exer- 
cise boy and jockey for Mr. Daniel De Camp, a famous 
old quarter horse man in Illinois. The youngster had 
become quite well known by this time and already had 

a large personal follow- 
ing among the frequen- 
ters of the race courses 
in that section. The 
first thoroughbred that 
he ever rode was Hark- 
away by Enquirer, a 
horse that was owned 
by Mr. De Camp and 
run at country fairs in 
the West and North- 
west. Harkaway was 
then three years old and 
with him Leigh won 
many races. He also 
rodeGilstar by Gilroy to 
many a successful finish. 
As a light weight jockey, ' 
he could not long keep 
his place for he soon be- 
gan to take on too much 
flesh. So he was obliged 
to separate from Mr. De 
Camp in 1878 and went 
into the business of 
training, in which he 
was successful from the 
outset, although he was 
then only eighteen years 
of age. He joined the 
staff of Mr. Isaac Staples, 
at Stillwater, Minn., in 
1879, and for him han- 
dled several horses of 
good reputation, like 
Governor Neptune, Athelestane and Florence Pavne. 

The stable of Mr. Staples was then considered the 
best in that part of the country, and during the four 
years that Ixe was with that owner Mr. Leigh met with 
good success. About 1884, he joined the staff of Colonel 
W. S. King, of Minneapolis, and began to appear on the 
big tracks. Among his other exploits was taking La 
Belle N., the dam of La Joya, to Chicago. Afterwards he 
had charge of the horses belonging to Colonel R. C. 




H. EUGENE LEIGH 



253 



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254 



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Pate, the St. Louis rac- 
ing man, in wliose string 
were Monogram, Conk- 
lin. Clay Pate, King 
Kyrle, Editor and nu- 
merous otlier good ones. 
Several of tiie liorses in 
tiiis string were of stake 
calibre, and with them 
he was successful in 
winning some notable 
races. Clay Pate carried 
off the American Stallion 
Stakes in i88s, and .Mon- 
ogram won the Cincin- 
nati Hotel Handicap the 
same year. In 188^, with 
Editor, at Latonia, Mr. 
Leigh won the Springbok 

Stakes and the Falsetto Stakes, beating Troubadour. 
in 1887, Mr. Leigh began business for himself, 
coming to the conclusion that he had worked quite 
long enough for others. He started in with two 
good mares. La Belle N. by Reform and Alemeda 
by Springbok. Meeting with fair success, he was 
soon able to buy such horses as Avery, Rambler, 
Lucy Johnston, Bankrupt and Quotation and won 
numerous races with them. Rambler, who was then 
a two-year old, was the horse that, more than any 
other, established the foundation for his future suc- 
cess. In his first year he came East, but did not 
find himself strong enough, and therefore returned 
to the West, where he generally met with success. 
For several years his racing was principally in 
Chicago and New Orleans. In 1889, he united with 
Mr. George Hankins, and the combination had 
one of the most formidable strings that had ever 




been got together. They had Santalene, Wheeler 
T., Little Minch, Huntress, Terra Cotta, Egmont, 
Orderly, Jacobin, Macbeth 11. , Robespierre, Lela 
May, Rambler, Bankrupt, Quotation, Martin Rus- 
sell, Joe Blackburn, Lucy Johnston, Kaloolah, 
Duke of the Highlands and Pessara. With these 
horses the aggregation swept everything before it 
in the West. Robespierre won for them the 
Tennessee Derby at Memphis, the Cumberland 
prize at Nashville, and ran second to Riley in the 
Kentucky Derby. Pessara won the Breeders' 
Futurity and other stakes. Huntress carried off 
the Kentucky Ja>k Pot Stakes. 

Coming East the fu'm cut a considerable figure 
in racing on the metropolitan tracks, and finally, 
in the fall of 1889, dissolved partnership. Mr. 
Leigh retained Rambler and several of the year- 
lings that the firm had 
owned. In the bunch 
were Pedestrian, Ir- 
regular, Azrael, Gam- 
bler and Arrowgrass, 
the latter being the dam 
of the famous sprinter, 
Zanone. With this 
new stable, Mr. Leigh 
started out for himself. 
He established his stable 
principally at Gutten- 
berg, where he raced 
for several winters. 
Rambler, Inferno, 
Gambler, Ma Belle, Az- 
rael, Caledonia and 
Eleanor, being his most 
important performers. 




BEN BRUSH 



255 



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He liad somestirringexperiences, especially lit Guttenberg to breeding at his La Belie Stud, located about seven 



and Sheepshead Bay, and infused the Eastern turf with 
a liveliness such as it had not known for manv years 
before. 

For the next two years Mr. Leigh devoted himself 
entirely to the East, dividing his time between Brighton 
Beach, Buffalo and Guttenberg. His stable rapidly 
became one of the most famous in the country and was 
phenomenally successful. The biggest year that he 
ever had was in the winter of '91-92, when his horses 
won 100 I'aces at Guttenberg. In the fall of 1892, he 
bought Clifford, then a two-year old, but the subse- 
quently famous horse was successful in winning only a 
single race for him that year. In 1893, his stable 
included Clifford, Pedestrian. Ducat, Ferrier, Ma Belle, 
Rambler, Chant, Lazzarone, La Belle, Handspun and 
Urania. This year he transferred his operations from 
the East to the West, and his string won in stakes and 
purses fully $100,000. Clifford carried off the Phoenix 
Hotel States, the Latonia Prize, and one other fixed 
event at the Kenton County track. 

From Latonia, Clifford was taken to Chicago to run 
for the $50,000 World's Fair Derby. The story of that 
race has often been told and has not yet been forgotten. 
For nearly two hours Starter Pettingill kept the horses 
at the post before he let them off, and as a result Clifford 
was so worn out before the flag was dropped that he 
only succeeded in running third. A few weeks later, 
however, he had his revenge when he met the Derby 
winner, Boundless, at the Hawthorne course. Although 
the son of Bramble had up 122 pounds, while Boundless 
carried only 98 pounds, the former was easily successful. 
During this Hawthorne meeting Clifford made a brilliant 
record for himself Started fourteen times, he won 1 5 
races, including the famous sweepstakes, in which he 
defeated Lamplighter and Yo Tambien. Thirteen stakes 
were run at the Hawthorne meeting and the Leigh 
Stable captured 9 out of the 10 in which it had entries. 

The following year Mr. Leigh had a great season both 
East and West. His stable included the horses that he 
had in the previous year as already enumerated. In the 
fall of that vear, however, he made up his mind to give 
up racing and sold out complete at Sheepshe.id Bay, his 
25 horses, bringing him the sum of $80,900, Clifford 



miles from Lexington, Ky., in Fayette County, on the 
Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The estate consists of 
467 acres of the best land to be found anywhere in Ken- 
tucky. It is well watered and the pasturage is perfect. 
Mr. Leigh improved the place with all modern con- 
veniences for the perfect breeding of thoroughbreds, and 
there are no establishments in the countrv that are 
better equipped, even though some are larger in extent. 
La Belle Stud has accommodations for 200 horses and 
its outfit consists of twenty-five different stables, resi- 
dences and other buildings. At the head of the stud 
has stood Bramble by imported Bonnie Scotland out of 
Ivy Leaf by imported Australian, the sire of Rambler, 
Clifford and Ben Brush. Bramble has not had many 
rivals as a sire. With him have stood Woodbine and 
Forester, son of imported The 111-Used. 

The La Belle matrons make a distinguished company. 
Ail of them have been winners, or the dams of winners. 
They include Arrowgrass, the dam of Zanone; Boabdilla, 
the dam of Carnage and Yours Truly; Forethought, the 
dam of Fischer and Provident: Lady Wayward, the dam 
of Carlsbad; Lady Ballard, the dam of Lady Looram; 
North Anna, the dam of George F. Smith; Libbie L., the 
dam of Arrezzo; Perhaps, the dam of Reckon; Cale- 
donia, Daisy Woodruff. La Belle, Ma Belle and a score 
of others. Some notable horses have been bred at La 
Belle, and the success of the establishment has demon- 
strated Mr. Leigh's peculiar fitness for that business. 
His life with thoi'oughbreds. from the time that he began 
his racing career as a mere youngstei', has give him an 
expert knowledge of the animals such as is possessed by 
but very few other men. He, himself is very frank to 
say that he believes that he would be a rank failure 
should he trv any other pursuit. Racing and breeding 
is his business, born in him, as it were, since all the 
members of his family were in some way connected 
with horses. 

It was scarcely to be expected, however, that Mr. 
Leigh should be contented to confine himself to his 
breeding establishment, notwithstanding the attractions 
that he found in that pursuit. His success as an owner 
has been of a character as to make it well nigh impossible 
for him to forego tliat indiilgence. He is, therefore, still 



selling for $25,000 and Ducat $10,000. In this sale went to be found upon the turf with a large and excellent 
Lazzarone, who the following year won the Subui- stable. The performers that he has had recently in train- 
ban. In the spring of 1895, Mr. Leigh formed a ing include over twenty, principally two-year olds. He 
partnership with Mr. Edward Brown, and the firm has in this string the three-year olds Fixed Star by 
owned Ben Brush, who won many of the great stakes Amphion out of Starlight, and Pacemaker by Kantaka 
of the West, earning for his owners $14,000. They sold out of Debut. His two-year olds include nine colts and 
the colt the same year to Mr. M. F. Lawyer for $18,000, fillies by Kantaka; two Bramble fillies; several colts by 



and in 1897 he was successful in the Suburban, the 
second Leigh horse to win that event. 

Beginning with 189s, Mr. Leigh devoted much time 



King Alfonso, Bersan and Perblaze; fillies by Hanover, 
Iroquois, Kingston, Devotee and Perblaze. and a chest- 
nut gelding by St. George. 



256 



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WILLIAM EASTON 

PRESIDENT AND AUCTIONEER, THE EASTON COMPANY 



257 



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258 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

The system of great public sales of thoroughbred pursuit that he might have been inclined to follow, 
stock that has originated within a few years past, has Added to this is the special qualification that he has of 
already proved to be a most important instrument in possessing a knowledge of the horse as the legitimate 
bringing about a desired and necessary improvement in result of life-long study and experience. 
these matters. Public sales that not long ago were en- Mr. Easton comes of an ancient family of the West of 
tirely unknown have now attained the importance of England. The original form of the family name, as set 
great public functions and attract the attention of the en- down in the old records, is Aeshton, meaning ash-tree, 
tire American people. The advantages derived from and an ash-tree is the family crest. Records of the 
the present system are too obvious to call for extended family preserved in the British Museum show that it ex- 
consideration in this connection, it would not be doing isted as far back as the year 481. Some of Mr. Easton's 
justice to the subject, however, or to those who have ancestors came to this country in early colonial days, 
been instrumental in instituting the present methods, if One of them served with General Washington during 
we should neglect to point out the very great influence the War of the Revolution, and was afterward attorney- 
that these sales have had in bringing about the increased general of one of the New England States. Another was 
prosperity of the business of thoroughbred breeding that Governor of Rhode Island, and after another one, who 
has already become such a pronounced feature of the settled in Pennsvlvania, the town of Easton in that State 
turf history of the closing years of the century. The was named. The grandfather of Mr. Easton was the 
close connection between the breeding establishments confidential agent of the Duke of Wellington, for many 
and these public sales of their stock is of vastly more im- years before the battle of Waterloo and subsequent to 
portance than is sometimes recognized. that event. On his mother's side Mr. Easton has rela- 

That thereby the market has been greatly developed tionship to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, and is also 
and improved, and, therefore, the business made more connected with the Seymours, Bonds and other well- 
profitable and placed upon a more stable foundation, known families of central and southern New York, 
cannot for a moment be doubted. This, however, Born in Geneseo, Livingston County, N. Y., October 
while it is the primary benefit derived from the new or- 8, 1846, Mr. Easton was sent to England to be edu- 
der of things by those especially interested, is not the cated, and studied at a famous school at Clifton. He also 
only advantage accruing therefrom. Not alone do the received instruction from a private tutor, who prepared 
breeding establishments see their profits increased as a him for the examinations required for admission as an 
result of the higher prices which, thanks to this system, officer into the British cavalry service. He was ambi- 
they are now able to obtain. Other advantages accrue, tious to enter upon military life, but family reasons ulti- 
also. The entire racing public is brought closer to- mately induced him to abandon this intention of becom- 
gether, and business relations are established and re- ing a soldier. Turning his attention to the pro- 
newed between the horsemen of different sections, who fession of law, he applied himself to that study 
are thus enabled, more than ever, to take council of each for the customary five years, part of this time 
other and derive advantage fYom intimate association, being passed in the office of one of the leading 
Finally, but in no manner least in importance, these legal firms of London. After that he entered and 
events have tended to attract that large class of people took chambers in the Middle Temple, this step being 
of wealth and leisure whose support and active partici- preparatory to his admission to the bar, the recognized 
pation as owners of thoroughbred horseflesh are im- highest professional pursuit in England. Circumstances 
peratively necessary in order to insure the prosperity made it necessary for him to reconsider his purpose of 
of the turf. entering upon the practice of the legal profession, and 

In this notable and important development of one while a good lawyer may thus have been lost, the busi- 

branch of turf affairs no man has had more active and ness world gained an important addition. He married 

influential part than Mr. William Easton. President of the a lady whose family has been for over two centuries 

Easton Company. Accorded the distinction of being a resident at that great historic centre of racing and thor- 

foremost representative of his profession, Mr. Easton is oughbred horse interests, Newmarket, her father having 

also universally credited with having elevated the been a magistrate for Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, 

auctioneering of high-class animals to the rank of a fine and a Lord Lieutenant of the county. Immediately after 

art. The pre-eminent reputation that he has attained his marriage Mr. Easton determined to come to the 

arises not merely from the fact that his qualifications for United States, and this was the turning point of his 

the profession which he adorns are of a special and re- whole career. 

markable character, but also results from the Dossession From his earliest youth the chief inclinations of Mr. 

by him of general business talent of the highest charac- Easton were for horses and outdoor sports of all kinds, 

ter that would undoubtedly make him successful in any As a young man he was noted as a good all around 

259 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




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260 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

athlete, and he also had an exceptionally high reputation Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, desirably located directly 
as a cross country rider, having frequently ridden over opposite the main entrance to the Coney Island Jockey 
some of the most famous steeplechase courses of the Club track. The whole establishment is altogether 
old country. As an owner of horses his experiences modern in conception and detail. In fact, it displays to 
were both considerable and successful, and he has long the fullest extent those original ideas as to the handling 
been known as one of the most enthusiastic turfmen of of consignments and the favorable exhibition of horses 
this generation. Both in England and in the United which has been a leading element in Mr. Easton's suc- 
States he has been prominent on the race course, his cess, and on account of which the foremost breeders 
colors being white and blue hoops, with red cap. of the country so generally entrust their stock to his 
Among the horses which have at various times repre- care for sale. All consignments made to the Easton 
sented him on the track, the one who achieved the Company are under the care of thoroughly reliable horse- 
greatest fame was probably imported Sweet Home, who, men. and unremitting pains are taken to preserve and to 
after she was retired from the turf, became especially improve the condition of stock before it is brought to 
well known as the dam of M.ijor Domo and of other the block, thereby adding greatly to its salable value, 
horses of high reputation. Blue Lodge, Mrs. Chubbs, In his professional capacity Mr. Easton has taken a 
imported Astoria, imported The Fop, imported Golden leading part in some of the most notable business trans- 
Dawn, and imported Bassetlaw, are other distinguished actions that have ever occurred in the racing history of 
performers that have successfully carried his colors on the United States. As an auctioneer he has a masterly 
many race courses. knowledge of the points of a horse, which he never fails 

He has also been greatly interested in importing, to properly set forth. His memoi'v is remarkable, and his 

From time to time he has brought into the United States personal acquaintance with turfmen, breeders and busi- 

manyofthe most noted English stallions and brood ness men is of the widest description. Added to this he 

mares, who, in breeding establishments, have made a enjoys the advantage of a wonderfully musical voice and 

deep impression through then- sons and daughters upon a manner that puts him into friendly relations with his 

racing in this countrv. Some notable commissions to audience. Some of the prices obtained at sales where he 

purchase thoroughbreds abroad have been entrusted to has officiated have never been equaled. Such examples 

him by leading American turf men. Thus he gave to as those of St. Blaise for $100,000; King Thomas, $38,- 

the late Mr. August Belmont and to Mr. James R. Keene, 000; Bolero, $3^.000; Hastings, $37,000; Rayon D'Or. 

as well as to others, the benefit of his sound knowledge $3;!. 000; Galore, $30,000; Requital, $26,000, Viola, dam 

of thoroughbreds, especially in England. The breeding of Victory, $20,500; imported Candlemas, $15,000; im- 

establishments of Mr. Belmont and Mr. Keene were ported Order, $26,000, and Victorine, $10,000, during 

greatly enriched by the brood mares that he selected for some ofthe worst periods of racing, speak for themselves, 

them on his special trip to England in their interests. The sale of St. Blaise will long be remembered. The auc- 

His purchases for Mr. Keene, for example, amounted to tioneer then faced one ofthe most notable gatherings of 

some $100,000. turfmen, owners, breeders, lawyers, bankers, brokers. 

In 1879, when the American Horse Exchange was merchants, millionaires and professional men ever 

established by a corporation of wealthy New Yorkers, brought together for such a purpose in America, and the 

Mr. Easton became the managing director and auction- bidding, which began at $25,000, was almost abruptly 

eer. After several years of successful business with brought to a close by Mr. Charles Reed offering $100,000. 

that establishment he severed his connection with it and It is, however, not merely in these sensational incidents 

founded the National Horse and Cattle Exchange, with that Mr. Easton's skill and knowledge are displayed, 

paddocks at Hunt's Point. Subsequently he ^formed The same attention to detail of every kind that can 

Tattersall's of New York (Limited), which concern in enhance the value of the subjects is displayed where 

the course of time absorbed the National Horse and ordinary stock is entrusted to his charge, and it has been 

Cattle Exchange, and the well known business of Brass- said that he can obtain a far higher average price than 

field & Co., of Lexington, Ky., as well as that of Emery any auctioneer in the country. 

& Fasig, of Cleveland, Ohio.' Of this organization Mr. Mr. Easton is a man of original ideas. His career has 

Easton was manager and auctioneer from iSqo until 1894. been an exhibition of pluck and determination even 

Resigning this position in the latter vear he again became when the condition of turf affairs has been most dis- 

conn^ected with the American Horse Exchange, but, in couraging. His opinion is that New York is the best 

1895, made a more decided departure when he organ- place for sales of thoroughbreds, and he has suggested 

ized The Easton Compaiv. of which he is now President to the breeding interest the importance of selhng all 

and auctioneer. The offices of this company are in New yearlings in two great sales to be held m the metropolis 

York City, while its extensive sale paddocks are at each spring and autumn. 

261 



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FRANCIS M. WARE 

TREASURER, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND AUCTIONEER, THE AMERICAN HORSE EXCHANGE, LIMITED 



i62 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



When the American Horse Exchange was incorporated 
in 1879, the facilities that then existed for disposing of 
high class horses in the United States were of a some- 
what primitive description. The private bargaining, 
the occasional isolated sales of racing stables, or the prod- 
duct of stock farms afforded only an inadequate means 
of distribution. In considering the situation, those who 
were especially interested recognized that the concentra- 
tion of this business, which seemed to be imperative, 
could hardly be accomplished if it should be left to 
purely private enterprise. Everybody conceded the 
force of this proposition. All consideration of the sub- 
ject started with the vital proposition that it was imper- 
atively necessary that any oi'ganization which coLild 
reasonably hope to secure the patronage of owners of 
horses and the leading breeders in the business of dis- 
posing of their animals and at the same time invite the 
confidence of the public in making pui'chases, must be 
in the hands of people of the highest standing. 

The situation was peculiar. Theie was an abiding 
distrust in the minds of everybody of the ordinaiy horse 
dealers, who had hitherto possessed a monopoly of the 
business. The demand for reform in horse selling- 
methods, as well as the necessity for more thorough 
and comprehensive arrangements than had hitherto ob- 
tained, seemed to remove at once any possibility of per- 
mitting the business to remain longer in the hands of 
private individuals, some of whom, it was well known, 
were scarcely of a responsible character. Any other at- 
tempt than that proposed of enlisting the co-operation 
of the substantial men of the community would 
be, it was felt, no better than leaving the business to 
continue a matter of private bargaining, or intrusting its 
large and growing interests to ordinary horse dealers. 
With the growth of the business side of racing and 
breeding that had already began to exhibit itself in all 
parts of the country, capital on a large scale was impera- 
tively requisite, not only to insure the success of the en- 
terprise that was contemplated, but also to inspire in the 
minds of both sellers and buyers, that confidence which 
must always be a chief element in the usefulness of any 
concern which should undertake to supply the want in 
question. 

At this juncture several gentlemen of the highest social 
standing in New York, who were more or less interested 
in horseflesh, took the matter under serious considera- 
tion. After mature deliberation they concluded to em- 
bark in the enterprise, wholly influenced by their desire 
to advance the interests of a business that appealed to all 
classes in the community. In 1879, the American Horse 
Exchange was incorporated, an organization that in its 
almost twenty years of existence has done an impor- 
tant work in raising the standard of horseflesh in the 
whole country and in bringing the breeding of thorough- 



breds and other high grade animals to a position where 
it is now recognized as one of the substantial and prof- 
itable industries of the United States The role of incor- 
porators of the Exchange included the names of such 
gentlemen as Messrs. William K. Vanderbilt, Freder- 
ick W. Vanderbilt, August Belmont, Jr., Frederick 
Bronson, the Hon. George Peabody Wetmore, Colonel 
William jay, and others equally well known in the social 
and linancial world. It is needless to say that the 
identilication of gentlemen of such standing with the 
enterprise placed it upon sub.stantial footing at the out- 
set, and fully established it in the confidence of breeders, 
owners and the general public. 

Under such eminently favorable auspices the American 
Exchange was established and soon became a power in 
the particular field that it occupied. The enterprise and 
wisdom of those who were the guiding spirit of the new 
organization was promptly shown by the erection for its 
headquarters and place for sales of the spacious building 
that covered the block between Broadway and Seventh 
Avenue and Fiftieth and Fifty-first Streets. For more 
than a decade and a half this building was the centre 
of some of the most important sales movements in 
New York. In the course of time it became a most 
influential factor in stimulating breeding in all parts of 
the country and in meeting the needs of prospective 
buyers of horses. In June, 1896, the original building was 
destroyed by fire. This was promptly replaced by a new 
and imposing structure, the perfection of whose equipment 
in every detail, no less than its accessibility, render it a 
truly ideal place for holding sales of high grade stock. 

Long ago the American Horse Exchange became an 
established institution, not only of New York, but of the 
entire country as well. Breeders from all sections, pro- 
fessional horsemen, and, in fact, all classes interested in 
horseflesh, have fully recognized the well nigh invalu- 
able facilities that it offers for the purpose for which it 
was incorpoiated. The associations connected with the 
place are of a very notable character, and its history 
would be in a sense a large part of the history of one of 
the most important sides of the horse business in the 
United States. Some of the most notable transactions 
that have ever taken place in connection with horses 
have been witnessed within its walls. It is, however, 
perhaps sufficient to say that it has become to the 
horse world in this country what the celebrated Tatter- 
sails of England is to the English turf. 

Not alone has the Exchange been of service to breed- 
ers of the thoroughbred racing horse. Its facilities have 
contributed much to advance the interests of breeders of 
fancy stock, of the high quality that is now so much in 
demand for purposes of pleasure. As the annual horse 
shows held in New York have partaken more and more 
of the character of a national fete of the world of wealth 



263 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




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THE AMERICAN TURF 



and fashion in the United States, the ensuing sales of 
stock that has been exhibited at the great gatherings 
have been more than ordinary attractions. These, almost 
without exception, have been held at the American 
Horse Exchange. The hackney and the modern high 
stepper, while far removed from the thoroughbred, are, 
nevertheless, infinitely above the ordinary class of 
equines, and it is through familiarity with them that 
many of the present leading owners on the turf have ob- 
tained their first start toward a racing career. The 
trotter has also a special department in the business of 
the Exchange and the largest sales ot that variety of the 
horse occur East and West under its direction. 

The management of the American Horse Exchange has 
performed a great work. The public has been enabled to 
find the kind of animals it wants with a minimum of 
trouble, and our breeders confidently rely upon obtaining 
the highest possible prices for their offerings. The facili- 
ties for intending purchasers are of the best description 
and, with the high plan on which the Exchange is con- 
ducted, attract the best class of purchasers to be found at 
any horse mart of the world. Facilities for keeping and 
exhibiting consignments are of the best, and nearly every 
breeder of consequence in the country has sooner or later 
entrusted his produce to its hands for sale. Auction 
sales are held with great frequency East and West, and 
the Exchange also holds sales at the tracks. It also 
purposes to erect large sales paddocks, offering to its 
consignors the choice of the city arena or of the paddocks. 
A feature of its business is its foreign connection. It 
inaugurated in 1S97. the shipping of yearlings to England 
for disposal, with a consignment of some forty head 
from one of America's leading thoroughbred nurseries. 

The officers of the American Horse Exchange are: Mr. 
W. K. Vanderbilt, President; Mr. E. L. Winthrop, Jr., 
Secretary, and Mr. F. M. Ware, Treasurer, Managing 
Director and Auctioneer. Although a native of Cam- 
bridge, Mass., where he was born Feb. ^, 18^9, Mr. 
Ware's early days were passed near Pimlico, Md., then 
one of the great centres of racing in the United States. 
There he was in consequence thrown into the society of 
some of the most notable horsemen of those days and 
imbibed a love for the sport that has never deserted him, 
while he also laid the foundation of a sound knowledge 
of all that concerns the thoroughbred. As a mere lad he 
became known as a skilful and fearless gentleman jockey, 
and when only sixteen years of age rode at Pimlico, as 
well as at Boston and Newport, R. I., his mounts being 
both on the flat and in hurdle races. 

At the age of seventeen. Mr. Ware returned to Boston 
and entered Harvard University, from which institution 
he graduated in the class of 1879. While pursuing his 
studies at Harvard he had. however, retained his inter- 
ests in horses, and in his leisure moments bought and 



sold them to some extent, his judgment regarding ani- 
mals and his knowledge of values in that connection be- 
ing unusually accurate. When his college course was 
completed he regularly went into the business of dealing 
in horses in Boston, and was thus very largely instru- 
mental in increasing the taste for sport and improving 
the class of horses owned in that city. While thus en- 
gaged he rode frequently in events mainly of a semi- 
public character. In 1886, however, he was in Chey- 
enne, Wyoming, and took a leading part in a meet 
there, held under the auspices of the wealthy ranchmen 
and horse breeders of that district, with many of whom 
he had business relations. The principal event was a 
race for the Cheyenne Club Cup, valued at $1,500, in 
which there were no less than seventeen starters repre- 
senting the pick of the horses from all over that portion 
of the West, making it one of the most important events 
that had occurred in that section. The distance was 1% 
miles, and Mr. Ware, riding Climax, won the race after 
an exciting struggle in very fast time. 

While in business in Boston, Mr. Ware for several 
years campaigned horses at the fairs held throughout 
Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and the various 
British Provinces. In 1891 and 189a, he was interested 
in a string of which Parolina and Lucre were the prin- 
cipal members, and raced them at the Guttenberg and 
Gloucester tracks with considerable success. He has a 
wide acquaintance among the notable horsemen and 
breeders of the country, and is one of the most popular 
men in his own specialty, or, indeed, in the whole 
turf field. At the same time he has frequently been 
called upon to act in an official capacity at various race 
meetings, particularly in New England, where the 
meets are to a large extent society functions rather than 
public gatherings and where he is widely known 
among the best class of people. He has thus officiated 
as starter at the Country Club races, held at Brookline, 
Mass., and also at the Newport, R. 1., races, which are 
attended by the very elite of society. In later years he has 
been starter at the Parkway track, Brooklyn, during the 
meetings of runners held there; at the first meeting at 
Providence, R. 1. ; at the Franklin Park meeting, Boston, 
and at other places. Another of his official posts has 
been that of secretary of the Steeplechase Hunt and Pony 
Racing Association, a body of considerable importance 
in connection with a branch of sport that is receiving 
increased public attention, and for two years he was of- 
ficial starter of that association. For the past four years 
he has made New York City his permanent headquarters 
and has been identified with the American Horse Ex- 
change. In this corporation the duties of his post as 
treasurer, managing director and auctioneer, are of a 
nature that he is eminently qualified to fill, by reason of 
experience, business ability and personal popularity. 



265 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




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266 



OWNERS 

AND 

TRAINERS 



OWNERS AND TRAINRRS 



Southern Gentlemen Early Prominent on the Turf— The Washingtons, Hamptons, and Other 
Historic Racing Families— Distinguished Old Time Turfmen of the 
North — Some Modern Horsemen. 



c'^lME and space would both fail if an attempt 
-f should be made to enumerate in any complete 
sense the names of all the gentlemen of distinc- 
tion who have been connected with the Ameri- 
can turf as owners and trainers since the practical begin- 
ning of the sport in a systematic manner in the middle of 
the eighteenth century. As has already been (jointed 
out in these pages, the list includes the names of those 
who have been prominent in every walk in society and 
who have been influential in contributing to the upbuild- 
ing and in advancing the welfare of this ' " sport of kings. 
It is quite true that the sentiment of certain sections of 
the country has always frowned upon racing, while often 
even in those localities which have been most devoted to 
the interests of the thoroughbred the sport has fallen 
somewhat into disfavor on account of adverse conditions. 
Nevertheless, on the whole, for a century and a half it 
has stood high in the estimation of the best classes in 
the community, and has developed into an important and 
wholesome national institution. 

Going back to Revolutionary days, we find that just 
before that great struggle of the colonies with the mother 
country the American turf was practically in the hands 
of wealthy gentlemen, chietly planters, in the Southern 
States, whose names will forever emblazon its annals. 
With the achievement of independence the same gentle- 
men again turned their attention to racing, which natur- 
ally had been ignored during the time when men's minds 
were engrossed with the superior demands of patriotism. 
In the post-Revolutionary times governors, councillors, 
legislators and gentlemen of wealth devoted themselves 
again to the fullest extent to the enjoyments of the turf. 
in Maryland, as colony and State, racing took the lead as 
an indulgence of the aristocratic and wealthy classes, and 
the first gentlemen of the land there, as well as in the 
neighboring States of Virginia and South Carolina, owned 
and ran their own race horses. Among these early turf- 
men were the two Governors Ogle, father and son, the 
two Colonels Lloyd, the younger being at one time Gov- 
ernor, and Governors Sharpe, Wright, Ridgely. Sprigg 
and others, also of Maryland. 

In the middle of the eighteenth century and after, 
every succeeding Governor of the State seemed to con- 
sider it part of his official dutv to maintain a racing stable 
and to be represented in all the turf events of the day. 



Governor Benjamin Ogle, as we have already seen, was 
a large importer of thoroughbreds, and succeeding gov- 
ernors emulated him in this respect. Governor Ridgely 
was especially distinguished as being the owner of the 
famous horse Tuckahoe, that ran in the early part of the 
nineteenth century, and Governor Sprigg is in turf annals 
better known as the owner of Partnership than as the 
Governor of his State. In Virginia, before the Revolu- 
tion, Colonel Byrd, of Westover; Colonel Tayloe, of 
Mount Airy; Colonel Thornton, of Northumberland, and 
their associates were leaders of the turf. In the next 
generation came Colonel John Tayloe. Colonel Sheldon. 
Colonel Hoomes and Messrs. Hoskins. Moseby, Worms- 
ley and others. 

The list of the turfmen of the early part of the nine- 
teenth century is a brilliant one. It includes the names 
of hundreds of eminent citizens, several of whom have 
already been considered, while we must add to the list 
General Wade Hampton and his son. Colonel Wade 
Hampton, Colonel William Washington, General Wynn. 
General Davie, General McPherson. General Spottis- 
woode. General Andrew Jackson, Colonel Taylor. Cap- 
tain Hairison. Colonel Bond, Colonel Singleton, the two 
Baylors, Dr. Thornton and a host of others, all good 
men and true. General Coles, General William Jones 
and Messrs. James De Lancey. C. R. Van Rantz, Town- 
send Cox and others, of New York, were also contem- 
porary. South of the James River, in Virginia, were 
Messrs. Wilkes, the Honorable John Randolph and others, 
while north of the James, as appears from the entries to 
the great Sterling Sweepstakes at Fredericksburg, in 
1 80^, were Colonel Miles Selden and Messrs. John 
Hoomes. Alexander Spottiswoode. Thomas Goode. Law- 
rence Washington. Lawrence Butler. Charles Stuart. 
William Herndon, Turner Dixon, William Randolph, 
lohn Armistead, Hdward Carter, William T. Alexander. 
William Wood. Benjamin Grymes, James Smock. James 
Verell and William B. Hamlin, all of them distinguished 
names in that period and afterward. The sweepstakes 
on this occasion were won by Colonel Selden with La- 
vinia by Diomed. 

The following year Colonel Tayloe. in a sweepstakes, 
beat Lavinia and Amanda with Topgallant, and won the 
great sweepstakes at Fredericksburg with Caroline. 
Maid of the Oaks appeared in this for her first race, and 



269 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



bolted, losing the only race that she ever lost hi Virginia. 
She was one of the most talked of horses of the time, 
and her contretemps on this particular occasion was the 
gossip of the stables for many long weeks and months 
thereafter. The gentlemen whose names have already 
been given, with scores of others that might be worthily 
added to the list, were conspicuous in the old time history 
of running in America. It is important and agreeable to 
recall their memories and to accord a just tribute to the 
value of their labors in the infancy of the sport when 
they guided its councils and gave their money to advance 
its interests, with no expectation of return. Too much 
emphasis cannot be laid upon the importance of the part 
played during this formative period by these early turf 
patrons, and it would be an agreeable task to fill pages 
with recollections of them and their times. 

It may seem almost invidious to single out particular 
individuals foi' special reference from among the scores 
and hundreds who were equally enthusiastic in their 
attention to affairs of the earlv turf. But it cannot 
escape notice that sporting activity in the early part of 
the century was largely concentrated in and about Vir- 
ginia. Maryland and the District of Columbia. The early 
turf history of the City of Washington was particularly 
brilliant, since affairs of government called to the Federal 
capital the leading men from all parts of the country, 
few of whom had not gained a knowledge of, and a 
passion for. the race course in their own homes and 
brought that predilection for sport with them. One of 
the most prominent of these earlier followers of the turf 
in Washington was the Honorable Gabriel Duvall. the 
accomplished Justice of the United States Supreme Coui't. 
who was a Revolutionary patriot and a contemporary of 
George Washington and a lawyer and jurist of the high- 
est social and professional reputation. To the end of an 
exceedingly long life Judge Duvall was a prime sup- 
porter of the turf, and was noted for the accuracy of his 
remembrance concerning turf matters, including the 
placing of the contesting horses in all the remarkable 
races that had occurred in this country back to a period 
long prior to the. Revolution. Judge Duvall. who was 
appointed to the Supreme Court by President Madison, 
retained his vigor long after he had retired from office. 
It is said that even when he had attained to old age he 
continued the habit of riding on horseback from his resi- 
dence to the race course in the vicinity of Washington, 
a distance of twelve miles, witnessing the races and then 
returning home in the saddle. 

An amusing story was told concerning Judge Duvall 
that is well worth repeating, even though it has no direct 
connection with the turf. When he was a member of 
Congress at the time that the first Congresses sat in Phil- 
adelphia, he boarded with a friend and fellow Congress- 
man named Giles, in the house of a landlady whose 



daughter had long passed the age of maturity without 
having a chance to give up a life of single blessedness. 
This maiden lady, who added garrulousness to the attrac- 
tions of uncertain age, was naturally a subject of more 
or less comment by those who sat at her mother's table, 
and the two Congressmen had much sport at her expense 
in the privacy of personal conversation. Years later, 
when the former Congressional chums met in Washing- 
ton, where one was Comptroller of the Treasury, under 
President Madison, and the other had become one of the 
most influential members of the United States Senate, 
Giles, in recalling memories of the days that they had 
spent together in Philadelphia, inquired of Duvall, "By 
the way, what do you suppose has ever become of that 

damned cackling old maid, Jenny G ?" He was a 

little disconcerted when Judge Duvall turned to him and 
said, in the most stately and courtly manner, " She is 
Mrs. Duvall. sir." 

Other leading men identitled with early racing in 
Washington were of similar calibre, socially and politi- 
cally, to Judge Duvall. The racing meetings held there 
were always distinguished by the presence and approba- 
tion of the Presidents of the United States, from Jeffer- 
son down to Van Buren, and by members of the Cab- 
inets, Senators, Representatives, judges and other officials 
of the Government, almost without exception. John 
Quincy Adams, of Puritan origin though he was, did 
not disguise his admiration for the thoroughbred horse 
and his delight at seeing the noble animal extend himself 
in trials of speed. Upon one occasion, while he was 
occupying the highest office within the gift of the nation, 
he walked out to the race course from the Presidential 
mansion and then democratically trudged back again at 
the end of the day's sport. President Andrew Jackson, 
who had distinction as a breeder and owner of race horses 
before he came to Washington, continued to maintain 
his interest in the sport even aftei he became President. 
It was not infrequent for him in those days to enter a 
horse from his own establishment, the name of his pri- 
vate secretai'v. Major Donaldson, being used for the occa- 
sion as a concession to the prejudices of those who might 
think it beneath the dignity of the President of the United 
States to race horses in his own name. From the gossip 
of the capital in this early period it is also a matter of 
record that Old Hickory was much disappointed because 
his horse was defeated in one of these races by imported 
Langford, a horse belonging to Commodore Robert F. 
Stockton, the defeat giving him more concern even than 
some of his political troubles. 

Conspicuous in the turf annals of the South on the 
revival of racing after the Revolution were General 
Wade Hampton and Colonel William Washington. 
Both gentlemen were natives of Virginia, but removed 
to South Carolina after the war. With Colonel William 



270 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Allston they went at once to a place at the liead of the 
turf of South Carolina. In 178b. and afterward. Colonel 
Washington won the principal racing events with Ranger, 
who was, however, beaten in 1788 by Comet, sometimes 
started by Colonel Allston and sometimes by General 
Hampton. For several years these gentlemen. General 
Sumter, the two McPhersons and Messi's. Fenwick, 
Moultrie. Irving. Lynch, Burne, Ashe and Richardson 
contended with each other, running their horses on the 
Newmarket Course until the establishment of the Wash- 
ington Course in 1702. A few years later Colonel Wash- 
ington's Shark and Colonel McPherson's Commerce 
became very celebrated for their brilliant victories, the 
former acc]uiring the highest distinction. Comet held 
his position tlrmly until he was beaten in iSoo by Maria, 
dam of Lady Lightfoot. Maria was bred by Colonel John 
Tayloe, of Virginia, for the express purpose of defeating 
Comet, in this match she was started in the name of 
General Hampton, who at that meeting had the unic^ue 
distinction of winning all the purses. Shark was a son 
of the imported horse of the same name, his dam being 
by Flimnap. His performances established the purity of 
his blood. He was buried with distinguished honors at 
the Jamesville Race Course, in Clarendon, near the coun- 
try-seat of Colonel James B. Richardson, and a marble 
slab, with suitable inscription, was erected over the spot 
where his remains were deposited. 

For two generations the name of Hampton was iden- 
titled with the most brilliant episodes of the early Amer- 
ican turf. The senior of the house. General Wade 
Hampton, was a representative of one of the oldest 
colonial families of Virginia. With several of his broth- 
ers he served in the Revolutionary Army, first under Gen- 
eral Sumter, and afterward himself in charge of a brigade, 
and was also a general in the War of 1812. He became 
eminently distinguished in both wars, and also took a 
leading part in the partisan controversies of his native 
State. Upon the revival of racing in South Carolina after 
the Revolution, having removed to that State, he was for 
many years one of the most distinguished breeders and 
turfmen in America, and that at a time when the turf 
was at the height of its popularity from New York to 
New Orleans. In the course of his career he trained and 
ran Mogul. Lath, Hazzard, Patriot, Harpoon, Maria. Rat- 
tle, Lady Bull, Highlander, Arabella, Dungannon, Mer- 
chant, Omar, Caroline and others too numerous to men- 
tion. Ugly, a very fortunate horse, bred by General 
Sumter, was usually run by General Hampton, and was 
a good four-miler. On one occasion after he had made 
a capital race. Judge Huger, as he stood in the crowd 
looking at him, remarked, "Who would have expected 
such a performance from such an unpromising looking 
animal!" General Hampton, overhearing the observa- 
tion, replied, with characteristic quickness and perhaps 



a little display of pique, '■ Perhaps, sir, you do not know 
who trained him." 

Colonel Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, son of 
General Wade Hampton, rivaled his father in his enthu- 
siasm for the turf and in the value of his services to the 
institution to which he devoted much time, money and 
intelligent labor. The period of his activity extended 
over the second quarter of the century, down nearly to 
the opening of the Civil War. His life and that of his 
father, therefore, together covered the best part of the 
first century of racing in the United States. Colonel 
Hampton was born in 1791 and died in 18^8. He re- 
ceived a piincely fortune fi'om his father, from whom he 
also inherited surpassing shrewdness and sound judg- 
ment in horses. The stable of Colonel Hampton com- 
prised comparatively few horses, but he was a prominent 
figure on the turf from the time that he first started 
horses in his own name in i8^s until the time of his 
death. Fxclusive of his winning races al mile heats, his 
stable was successful in thirteen races at four-mile heats, 
twelve at three-mile heats, and as many more at two- 
mile heats. 

Several of the best horses that he started were Lath, 
Gadsden, Bay Maria, Charlotte Russe, Monarch, Fmily. 
Kitty Heath, Kate Seyton, Fanny, Margaret Wood and 
Herald, besides others, as Argyle and The Queen, that 
were not trained in his own stable. He was eminently 
successful, not only as a breeder of tine blood stock, but 
also in his importations. In i8^s, he imported Monarch, 
bred at Hampton Court, by King William of Hngland. 
At the same time he brought over six other horses; in 
i8st). The Queen and three others: in 18^7, Sovereign 
and five others, and in 18^8, Delphine, the dam of 
Monarch. Captain William A. Stewart was Colonel 
Hampton's favorite trainer, while he employed as jock- 
eys Willis, Craig, Welch and Gilpatrick. The racing 
memoranda of the South Carolina Jockey Club spoke of 
Colonel Hampton enthusiastically as " The impersonation 
of Carolina chivalry, the embodied spirit of Caiolina 
blood and Carolina honor, one that may be looked upon 
as the main contributor in our State for many seasons to 
the legitimate end of racing, the improvement of our 
breed of horses." Frank Forrester, in his Field Sports 
of the United States, and British Provinces of North 
America, referred to him as " the first sportsman of the 
land." 

The name of Colonel John Tayloe, of Mount Airy, Va.. 
was a name to conjure by in the early years of the Amer- 
ican turf. He has been frequently referred to as. 
"Among the most brilliant ornaments of the turf in 
those days of Auld Lang Syne." Contemporary with 
Hampton, Washington, Allston and others, he has often 
been placed at the head of the lists of " the most distin- 
guished breeders and turfmen of America. ' ' After nearly 



271 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



twenty years of active connection witii tiie turf he retired 
in 1810. For nearly lialf a century descendants of his 
stud at Mount Airy were the best race horses in the 
country. He bred Sir Archy and his half-brother. He- 
phestion. by Buzzard. Gallatin by Bedford, and the re- 
nowned brood mares Alvilina, Peggy and Nancy Air. 
American Eclipse, through Uuioc, was descended from 
his Gray Diomed by Medley. For years he was the 
champion of Virginia opposed to General Ridgely, who 
was at the head of the turf in Marvland. These two 
tLii'fmen encountered each othei' with varied success in 
Annapolis, Baltimoi'e and near Washington. From 1804 
to 180Q, General Ridgley was successful in winning most 
of the Jockey Club races in Maryland and near Washing- 
ton City, his stable at that time being particularly strong, 
consisting of Post Boy, Oscar and Maid of the Oaks. 

Colonel Tayloe's advent upon the turf was with a few 
horses that came to him by inheritance descended fiom 
his father's famous race horse Yorick. He soon took a 
decided lead with Belair. Calvpso. Grav Diomed. Virago. 
Maria and Leviathan, all of whom weie among the best 
race horses in the country in the last decade of the last 
century. After the century post had been turned he 
continued his triumphs with Gallatin, Cupbearer, Nancy 
Air, Topgallant, Peacemaker and others. He also ran 
Dragon with distinguished success, but aftei' 1807 grad- 
ually retired from the tui'f. which he quit entirely after 
his victories with Ladv Lightfoot and Revenge in 181S-16. 

The name of Majoi' Thomas Doswell recalls bright 
memories of the palmiest days of racing in the United 
States. When he died in 1870. a connecting link between 
the present and the eai'liest generation of the American 
turf was broken. At the time of his death, which oc- 
curred upon his estate, Bulltleld. in Virginia, he was in 
the seventy-eighth year of his age, having been boin in 
Newmarket, Hanover County, in 170:3. His turf career 
commenced in 1824, and the fii'st race horses that he 
owned were John Swedon, Sir John and Sylvester. With 
Sir John he won several races, the most notable being 
a three-mile heat in which he beat Colonel Richard 
Graves' Red Lyon. An interesting story concerning this 
race was one of the yarns that old turfmen used to de- 
light in telling. The boy who was selected to ride Sii' 
John was taken off the day before because there were 
suspicions that he intended to throw the race. A colored 
man forty years old was selected for the mount, and, in 
order to meet the exigencies of the case, in one night 
reduced his weight fourteen pounds, and the next day 
went in and won easily in two heats. In 182s, Major 
Doswell's horse Liberator, by Director, won an important 
four-mile race. During the ensuing five years the Major 
was not prominent on the turf, but in 1830, he came out 
with several good horses, including John Brown by Sir 
(Charles out of Sally Brown, and Sally Hornet by Sir 



(Charles out of a dam by Hornet. Subsec]uentlv he added 
to his stable Bayaid by Carolinian out of an imported 
Bedford dam, and Pamunkyout of Atalanta by Sir Harry. 
With Bayard and Sally Hornet he was very successful, 
winning several good races in two and three-mile heats. 

From that time on, until he retired from the turf, leav- 
ing to his son, Thomas W. Doswell, the celebrated stable 
that he built up, he was one of the most conspicuous 
and most admirable t]gures among the turfmen of the 
South. An account of the horses that he ran and the 
races in which he participated and in most of which he 
was successful, would be little short of a full account of 
the American turf for fully thirty years after 18^0. Be- 
tween 18^0 and 1840. he had in his stable Pizarro by 
Alfred out of Eliza Horton: Moscow by Tariff out of a 
Spread Eagle dam; Camden. Martha Bickerton. Dandy, 
Joe Tank, Oriflamme. a showy chestnut horse by Mon- 
sieur Tonson out of a dam by Sir Hal. and other good 
ones. In the ensuing ten years he was the owner of Hard 
Cider, Seven Up, Emily Thomas. Sarah Washington, 
Oritlamme. Tom Payne, Mai'ia Shelton. Martha Bickerton 
and others. Sarah Washington was counted one of the 
best horses of hei' day. and had to her credit many good 
races at two. three and four-mile heats, beating such 
opponents as Andrewetta, Lady Clifden, Hector Bell and 
others. In the stud she produced Orati'ix, Inspector, 
Escape, Sue Washington, Slasher, Fanny Washington 
and others. Later additions to Major Doswell's string in 
the same decade were Orator. Passenger. Thirteen of 
Trumps, Mary Mason. Tom Walker, Nina, etc. 

In i8s6. Majoi' Doswell brought out Sue Washington, 
wlio immediately began to win good races for him. and 
in 1847 he brought out Slasher, who won all the races in 
which he was entered in his first season, his winnings 
foi' tlie year amounting to Si ^.200. In i8^^. the I^oswell 
Stables were augmented by the birth of Planet. Fanny 
Washington and Lucy Haxall, all three of whom were 
by Revenue, out of Nina, Sarah Washington and Virginia 
Payne, respectively. These three horses were among 
the most successful of their day. defeating all the great 
cracks upon the South.ern courses and frequently breaking 
records. A year before the Civil War opened the Dos- 
well Stables held Planet, Fanny Washington, Nicholas I. 
and Exchequer foi' their main dependence, while many 
others of lesser distinction weie their stable companions. 
This was the last year of Major Doswell's active partici- 
pation in tuif affairs, and it maybe fairly said of him 
that he left the turf in a blaze of glory. His four great 
horses swept nearly the whole field before them in that 
season of i860. Planet beginning by winning foui-mile 
heats at New Orleans, while Fanny Washington at the 
same meeting won the Club ^urse, three-mile heats, and 
the Club Purse, four-mile heats, defeating in the formei' 
Godiva. La Variete and Uncle Jeff, and in the latter La 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Variete. Hndorser and John C. Breckinrida:e. At other 
meetings Fanny Washington. Irena and Excheqiiei' car- 
ried the Doswell colors to victory, while Rosa Bonhill 
and other members of the stable also contributed their 
part to its success. 

As a devoted follower of the turf, a talented lawyer 
and an able man of public affairs, there were few South- 
erners of the antebellum days who were more influen- 
tial, or whose lives were more tilled with activity in 
every good cause that interested his fellow citizens than 
Colonel Bailie Peyton. For more than threescore and ten 
years he was thoroughly identified with the public and 
social life of Tennessee, being a native of Sumner County, 
in that State, and dying there in 1878. Tennessee was 
almost a wilderness when he was born, and he grew up 
to be one of the most energetic, courageous, and honest 
pioneers of his day. Before he had attained his majority 
he engaged in the practice of law. and, being an impres- 
sive and forcible speaker, as well as a hard student, rap- 
idly went into the front rank of his profession. He was 
a typical Southerner, with easy and pleasant manners, 
full of dash and energy, and thoroughly companionable 
withal. In 18^;. he was elected by his fellow citizens 
to a seat in the national House of Representatives. His 
career in that body was not long, and was remarkable 
chiefly for his unswerving opposition to President 
Andrew Jackson upon many of the political issues of 
the time. General Jackson was then all powerful in 
Tennessee, and Colonel Peyton's opposition, honest and 
courageous though it was. resulted in his retirement to 
private life. Nevertheless, he continued to be a warm 
personal friend of General Jackson, and the closest social 
relations existed between them. 

Removing to New Orleans in 18^0, Colonel Peyton 
practiced his profession and afterward became District 
Attorney. During the Mexican War he served as an aide 
on the staff of General Zacharv Tavloi'. In 184C1. he was 
appointed United States Minister to Chili, and upon the 
expiration of his term of office settled in San Francisco 
for a short time, but returned to Tennessee in iSsb. 
During the Civil War he was an outspoken Union man. 
when it cost something to take that stand in the border 
States. One of his sons was killed while serving in the 
Confederate Army, and he himself was arrested and im- 
prisoned by Union authorities, who mistrusted his patrio- 
tism. Nevertheless, he never for a moment yielded in 
his devotion to the Union cause. After the war was 
over he was twice a member of the State Senate, and in 
the last few years of his life lived the retired life of a 
Southern gentleman upon his plantation. 

From early manhood (^olonel Peyton was devoted to 
outdoor sports, particularlv those of the turf. He was 
absorbingly interested in the thoroughbred, and was as 
well infoi'ined as anv man in Kentucky upon that sub- 



ject. Engaged in breeding to some extent, although not 
as extensively as some of his contemporaries, he had a 
small stable, and delighted in exploiting some of the 
choicest specimens in blood, form and constitution that 
his native State ever had to offer. Among the horses 
that he owned at different times were Maria Shepherd, 
Atalanta. Black Maria. Trifle and other good racers. After 
they had retired from the turf, he bred Muggins, dam 
Fanny McAlister; Cost Johnson. General Rousseau and 
Chickamauga. At the time of his death he owned 
Romping Girl. Panama. Summer Rose and other mares, 
yearlings and weanlings. The turf of Tennessee and of 
the country was richer by the attention that he gave to it 
and by the high standard of integrity and honesty by 
which it was his constant struggle to have it measured. 

Among the leaders of the turf in Virginia in the eight- 
eenth century the princely Colonel William Byrd. of 
Westover. on the James River, must be frequently re- 
ferred to by the chronicler of the events of that period. 
He received and profited by the best education that could 
be had in England, being sent to that country to study, 
as became his position as the son of one of the wealthiest 
families of the colony. In the mother country he devel- 
oped his tastes for literature and refined living and 
returned home enthusiastically devoted to English sports 
and habits of life. At Westover, which was one of the 
substantial colonial homes of Virginia, he had his racing 
stud, one of the finest libraries in the country and valu- 
able works of art. He expended money generously in 
support of the turf, and no man of his day had more 
influence in the racing matters that pertained to the life 
of the period. 

An interesting anecdote is told of Colonel Byrd that 
illustrates his character and is a revelation of his wealth. 
When quite a voung man at a club house in London he 
met the Duke of Bolton, whose offer to bet ;!^io,ooo on 
the turn of a certain card, not being taken by the noble- 
men and others of their set. was modestly accepted by 
him. When the cards were turned Mr. Byrd proved to 
be the winnei'. Without a word further the play went 
on until the adjournment to supper. The Duke then 
approached the young Virginian with the remark. "■ I 
owe you, sir, ^T 0,000; but as you are a stranger to me 
I must inform you of a rule here that we must know the 
winner is able to pay. in case of his loss. " "A very 
proper rule." replied Mr. Byrd. "and I will refer your 
grace to my banker." He handed a note for the banker 
to the Duke with the single inquiry: "■ Would you honor 
my check in favor of the Duke of Bolton for ^jo.ooo?" 
Upon being applied to. the banker promptly answered, 
■■ Not only for ^"lo.ocx). but for ttn times the amount." 
The responsibility of Mr. Byrd thus being fully estab- 
lished beyond cavil, the Duke of course paid the money. 
It is said that Mi'. Byrd shortly thereafter left England for 



273 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



:i tour on the Continent, and never again touclied a card 
while in Hurope. But tlie sporting incident remained 
with iiim throughout life. 

Bv general consent Colonel William R. Johnson, of 
Virginia, heads the list of distinguished turfmen of the 
glorious days of the thirties. He was called " the Napo- 
leon of the turf." Trained from childhood with his 
father's hoi'ses. especially with that famous mare by 
Medley whose progeny the son ran with great success, 
in 1801. he won the great Fairfield Stakes with True Blue, 
and from 181 s onward was tirst by the post in many 
noted races with his horses Vanity and Reality. His 
accession to the head of the turf dated from iSot) with 
Sir Archv. The following year he won the great twentv- 
mile race at Fairtield, four-mile heats, with Maria, beat- 
ing Sir Alfi'ed and Duroc. During his brilliant career he 
maintained his ascendancy with Boston. Blue Dick. Sir 
Hal, Slender. Bonnets O'Blue. Medley. Sally Walker, 
Andrew, Trifle. Atalanta. Lady Clifden and Lorgnette, 
winning hundreds of victories with these and other 
horses, whose names were household words in that 
period. Of later date in Maryland, among others who 
were pailicularly conspicuous were Messrs. Bowie & 
Hall, who bred, trained and ran their own horses to a 
greater extent than had been for many years customary 
in that old State. They owned several brood mares, 
well infused with Oscar blood, and othei' representatives 
of the best ecjuine families of the South. 

Mr. Samuel Piirdy. who lode American Eclipse to vic- 
tory in the race with Henry on the Union (bourse. Long 
Island, in 182^, was an architect and an alderman of 
New York, and made his name famous forever in the 
annals of the Ameiican turf. He was a gentleman lider. 
and known throughout the country as an expert judge of 
horseflesh and a tiainei' of marked ability. He died in 
18^6, and his remains rest in the old St. Paul's church- 
yard at Fulton Street and Broadway. New York. The 
vault is covered by a granite slab, supported by four 
small granite pedestals. There is a marble slab beneath 
the granite one. but the ravages of time have almost 
obliterated the insci'iption. On one side is the insciip- 
tion: "Samuel PLirdy, born May 14, 177s. Died Decem- 
ber ^, 1836," and on the other side, "Sarah, wife of 
Samuel, born August 18, 178^, died November n, 
i8n." Beneath the slab is also this inscription: " This 
tomb is erected to their memory by their affectionate 
children." 

A son of Mr. Samuel Purdy. Mr. John F. Purdy. was 
also distinguished among New Yorkers by his connection 
with the turf, which lasted for nearly three-quarters of a 
century. He was a noted gentleman ridei' and driver in 
his day. and devoted the greater part of his life to breed- 
ing and racing. When he died, in 180)7, he had outlived 
most of his associates in that famous group of sportsmen 



that included Messrs. August Belmont, the eldei'. Leonard 
W. Jerome. William R. Travers, Daniel D. Withers, 
Judge Alonzo C. Monson. M. H. Sanford. John Hunter 
and Francis Morris, father of Mr. John A. Morris. These 
were the men who founded the American Jockey Club 
and did so much to advance the interests and preserve 
the dignity of the American turf. Only Mr. John Hunter 
and Judge Monson. President of the Knickerbocker Club, 
survived Mr. Purdy. 

Mr. John F. Purdy was born in New York October 14, 
1810. In 184^. he married Miss Virginia Teackle, also of 
New York. They had five children— Mrs. George S. 
Nicholas. Mrs. fXidley B. Fuller, Mrs. Murray Livingston, 
Lycia W. Purdy and A. Belmont Pui'dy. Mr. Purdy was 
a stock broker until 18^7. when he founded the wine ^ 
house of Purdy & Nicholas. When Jerome Park was \ 
opened, on Tuesday. September 2s, i86b, he was one of 

'\ the race stewards, his associates being Messrs. W. B. 
Duncan. Paul S. Forbes, A. Keene Richards and E. 
Boudinot Colt, with Mr. John B. Irving as secretary. 
He was at one time a partner with Mr. D. D. Withers in 
racing, and afterward had a stable of his own. The best 
known horses of the Purdy & Withers stable were 
Vespucius, who beat Glenelg for the Annual Sweep- 
stakes, and Tasmania, who once won the Ladies' Stakes 
at Jerome Park. Mr. Purdy also owned the famous 
Kentucky as a two-year old. Although he lived to the 
age of eighty-eight, he never had a serious attack of 
illness. His friendship with Mr. August Belmont led to 
his acting as second in the duel which Mr. Belmont 
fought with the Honorable William Hayward, of South 
Carolina, early in the forties. 

The most notable event in Mr. Purdy's career on the 
turf occurred in i8^o. when he drove his trotting mare. 
Kate. 100 miles inside of ten hours on a wager. At this 
time it was the custom for sportsmen who owned trot- 
ters to race them in matches on the road from town to 
town. Mr. Purdy had a biush on the load. and. coming 
out ahead, had a discussion with his opponent about the 
going qualities of Kate. The result was the 100-mile 
match for §1.000. The match was a private one. and 
nothing was said about it except to the friends of the 
principals. As the race was in progress all day the news 
of it got abroad, and an immense ci'owd went to see. 
Kate was then ten years old and won. Mr. Purdy had 
hired a professional driver, but he began the race by 
driving himself, and then became so interested that he 
continued to drive her to the end. He was utterly ex- 
hausted after the race, but the mare suffered no bad 
effects. She lived till she was thirty-six years old. 

One of the most prominent turfmen of the last gener- 
ation was Mr. John C. Stevens, of New York and 
Hoboken, distinguished alike for his genius, enterprise, 
wealth and public spirit. He was one of the challengers 

274 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



on bt'half of Eclipse in tiiat famous race with Henrv in 
1823, when Eclipse represented the Noith and Henry the 
South. Previous to that time he had already become 
deeply interested in the turf, and during his life brought 
out a great number of winners, not only running horses 
bred by himself, but being also a patron of other breed- 
ers of blood stock. As early as 1824 he won a $=,.000 
match with Tom Piper, and was also successful with 
Lady Jackson. At a later day, with Black Maria, he car- 
ried everything before him. At one time he owned the 
renowned Medoc. which he sold for $10,000 to Colonel 
Abe Buford, of Kentucky. He won the great $44,000 
stakes with Fordharn and the $1^,000 stakes with 
Dosoris. He also owned Zela, a superb flllv. who won 
several races in the North and afterward was sent to 
Alabama, where she won three consecutive races at four- 
mile heats. After running Fanny Wyatt and several 
other blood horses for a year or two. he relinquished the 
turf and turned his attention to yachting, becoming dis- 
tinguished in that branch of sport as the first Commodore 
of the New York Yacht Club and the commander of the 
yacht America in the celebrated race off the Isle of Wight 
in 18s I, which resulted in bringing to this country 
the celebrated America Cup that has since been the 
cause of contention between American and English 
yachtsmen. 

Mr. Stevens was either president or vice-president of 
the New York Jockey Club for a period of twenty-one 
years, finally declining re-election on the ground that 
he had served his time out. He had an extensive train- 
ing stable on Long Island, where he employed the two 
trainers, William Baxter and Isaac Van Leer, the 
latter becoming subsequently the trainer of Peytona and 
others for Mr. Kirkman, of Alabama. Each of these 
trainers had a separate string. Outside of the first 
course, his private training ground, Mr. Stevens laid out 
another course of turf. As every horse left the stable 
for exercise, trial or public race, Mr. Stevens made it an 
inflexible rule that the animal should be led over a large 
platform scales and its weight accurately ascertained and 
recorded. It is an interesting fact that his horse, Black 
Maria, lost over 100 pounds in her gi'eat four-mile race. 
For many years Mr. Stevens, with Messrs. Livingston. 
King, Coster and two or three others, was recognized as 
standing at the head of the turf in the North. 

It was the particular distinction of Mr. M. H. Sanford 
that he was the second American to take a string of 
thoroughbreds across the Atlantic and challenge the Eng- 
lish horses upon their own ground. He had an interest- 
ing experience in connection with the English turf, but 
his enterprise was of more abundant value in connection 
with racing in this country than it was abroad. A native 
of Massachusetts, he belonged to one of the oldest fam- 
ilies in that State, that traced its lineage to earliest colonial 



times, liarly in life he engaged in mercantile pursuits 
and soon became a man of great wealth. His connec- 
tion with the turf did not commence, however, until 
about the time of the opening of Jerome Park, in iSbb, 
when he had passed middle age. He was associated 
with Mr. Leonard W. Jerome in the organization of the 
American Jockey Club, and took an energetic and useful 
part in the good work to which that organization de- 
voted itself. 

Providing himself with a good string, he made his 
debut upon the turf in 1867 with Loadstone, Ear Ring. 
La Polka and others, and captured the Jockey Club Handi- 
cap, the Westchester Cup, the Nursery Stakes and other 
valuable purses. His success stimulated his ardor for 
the new pursuit upon which he had entered, and forth- 
with he made arrangements to go into breeding and run- 
ning upon a large scale. His establishment at Preakness, 
N. J., soou became one of the most famous in the coun- 
try. He engaged Anthony Taylor as trainer and en- 
tered upon a long and successful career. One of the 
most famous jockeys of the sixties. William Hay- 
ward, first appeared under Mr. Sanford's management, 
riding Loadstone to victoi'y for the first Westchester 
Cup. Two years later he was successful with Lancaster 
at Saiatoga. with Haywai'd up. Next he won with 
Niagara and Madam Dudley, and then with Preakness. 
who was one of the greatest stallions and one of the 
greatest racers of that day. With Preakness he won the 
great Dinner Party Stakes at Baltimore in 1870. and the 
Westchester Cup at Jerome Park in 1871. His great 
favorite, howevei', was unquestionably Monarchist, who 
eclipsed some of the first horses of the time, and when 
Monarchist defeated Harry Bassett at Jerome Park in 
1872, his opponent being considered at that time incom- 
parably the best horse on the American turf. Mr. Sanford 
felt that the money and time that he had expended for 
years past was returned to him many fold. 

From 187s to 1881, Mr. Sanford was engaged in his 
memorable campaign in England, but his success there 
was not what he had hoped for, nor at all what would 
have been a fair reward for his enterprise and the merit 
of the horses that he took with him. Probably, had not 
failing health compelled him to return home, he might 
have remained longer in that field and achieved greater 
success. He did not maintain further active connection 
with the turf even in this country, and died only two 
years later, in 188^. He was considered one of the most 
liberal buyers of thoroughbreds that the turf ever knew. 
He paid $7,000 for a yearling, brother to Asteroid, and 
made a losing bargain of it. For Preakness he paid 
$2,000. but the great Monarchist cost him only $i.qoo. 
That was in the day, however, when, as compared with 
the present, there was only a comparatively moderate 
demand for blood colts. It is said of him that he desired 



275 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



to take Ten Bioeck to Hngland, and offered to give 
$2S,ooo for that champion. 

From the old Bathgate family of New York, one of 
the oldest families established in Westchester County, 
came several patrons of the turf, whose careers extended 
from early in the present century nearly to its close. The 
Bathgates were originally from Scotland, and representa- 
tives of the family for several generations were leaders 
in all efforts to promote racing in the vicinity of New 
York. Perhaps the best remembered member of this 
family was Mr. Charles W. Bathgate, who was born in 
West Farms in 1824. near the site of Morris Park, and 
died in i8qi. He was the son of a wealthy farmer and 
mill owner, who was also one of the leading turfmen in 
the United States in the first quarter of the centLiry. The 
elder Bathgate owned the celebrated mare Maid of the 
Oaks, from whom Sensation. Onondaga. Girofle, Glen- 
more, Tenny and other cracks weie descended. For 
several years American Eclipse stood at his estate, and 
so did Barefoot, the winner of the Doncaster St. Leger, 
in 182^. Medoc, one of the best American thorough- 
breds of the generation just passed, was bred by him. 
Dr. James Bathgate and Mr. Ale.xander Bathgate, neph- 
ews of the elder Bathgate, were also prominent turf- 
men. Thev imported Mango, who won the St. Leger in 
18^7. and owned and run other good horses, keeping up 
a racing stable until about 18O0. Thev were afteiwai'd 
known as owners of the celebrated trotting stallion, 
Toronto Chief. 

It was natural that with such associations and such 
nherited taste for the turf Mr. Charles W. Bathgate 
should, from an earlv pei'iod in his life, become inter- 
ested in the thoroughbred. He was a compai'atively 
young man. and had not attained to particular distinction 
in racing matters when the decadence of the turf in 18^0. 
owing to dishonorable practices of many who were con- 
nected with it. set in in the vicinity of New York, and 
for a short time he was interested in tlie trotter, owning 
the stallion New Jersey and other good horses of that 
class. When racing was revived in the years immedi- 
ately following the Civil War. he was one of the earliest 
to take up with the old sport, and was active in all meas- 
ures foi' placing it upon substantial footing and holding 
it to an honorable careei'. Jerome Park was built upon 
part of his ancestral acres in Fordham. which he had sold 
to Mr. Leonard W. Jeiome. He also became an owner, 
his colors being all green, and subsequently was a part- 
ner for a short time with Mr. Jerome in the Jerome Park 
Home Stables, from which Clara. Clarita, Fleetwing, 
Red Wing, General Yorke, De Courcy and other cracks 
came out to do good service on the course. 

It was well said of Mr. Bathgate by one who knew 
him intimately that althoLigh, " as an actual owner, he 
was never pi'ominent, his intluence on great racing 



stables and race courses was greater than that of any 
other man of his time: he might not be inaptly termed 
• the Warwick of the tuif. ' " He was the agent of Mr. 
Jerome when that gentleman started upon his racing 
career in i80ti. and was also an adviser to Mr. Pierre 
Lorillard some six or seven years later when Mr. Lorillard 
determined to go into racing. More than twenty years 
after. Mr. James R. Keene availed himself of Mi-. Bath- 
gate's long and wide experience and good judgment. 
At that time the Lorillards were carrying everything 
befoi'e them, and the success of theii' stable was assum- 
ing such proportions that some one remarked that if 
the Lorillards could not be stopped in their career there 
would soon be an end to I'acing upon the courses about 
New York. Mr. Keene entered upon the field at this 
juncture, and, upon the advice of Mr. Bathgate, pur- 
chased the colt Spendthrift, who had a great reputation 
in the West, but had never been seen in other parts of 
the country. Brought to New York, he accomplished 
the ends that were aimed at. beating the Lorillard horses, 
Harold and Monitor, for the Belmont Stakes, and giving 
an added interest to the three-year old racing of that 
year. In 1881. Mr. Bathgate went to England, where he 
took charge of Mr. Keene's stable and was identified 
with those victories of Foxhall and other horses, which 
were a source of such gratification to every patriotic 
Ameiican and every follower of the turf on this side of 
the Atlantic. It was the judgment of Mr. Bathgate that 
led to the selection of the picturesque site for Morris 
Park, and he had much to do with superintending the 
construction of that magnificent race couise. 

Foi' three generations the name of Moi'i'is has been 
prominently identified with affairs of the turf, and its all- 
scarlet, the famous Barbarity colors, that took their name 
from the grand old brood mare, whose offspring. Ruth- 
less, Relentless, Remorseless, Regardless and others, so 
worthily carried the gay jacket to victory, has been a fea- 
ture of turf life that will not soon be forgotten by any who 
follow the track. The first of the family to engage in rac- 
ing was Mr. Francis Morris, one of that generation of 
sportsmen who joined in the levival of racing in the eaily 
sixties by founding the American Jockey Club and open- 
ing Jerome Park. He owned several of the best horses 
known to the tui'f even before the Civil War, and was 
the financial backer of the string that Mr. Richard Ten 
Broeck took to England in 18^7, thus being an essential 
factor in one of the most impoitant enterprises ever 
known in the history of the American tLirf. Mi'. Morris 
came of good old English stock, his grandfathei'. John 
Morris, being chaplain to the Duke of Bedfoid in 1748. 
His father. William P. Morris, came to the United States 
in 1820, and, settling at Throgg's Neck, owned one of 
the handsomest coLintry-seats in the vicinity of New 
York. 



276 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Even before the death of Mr. Francis Morris, an event 
that occurred in 1886, his son, Mr. John A. Morris, had 
followed iiis father's example in becoming identified 
with the turf. He bore a hand in founding the American 
Jockey Club, and for several years, at Jerome Park, 
handled the starter's tlag. When he was onlv twenty 
years of age. having been born in i8s6. he went to 
Europe with Mr. Ten Broeck in the racing enterprise that 
his father was backing, and had a broad and valuable 
experience in connection with English and French racing, 
gaining much information concerning thoroughbreds and 
track management across the Atlantic that was of great 
use to him in the future. In business enterprises he ac- 
cumulated a large fortune, and in i88q, he started a 
stable, not having engaged in lacing extensively before 
that time. His bold and well-judged purchases of 
choicely bred animals and extensive investments in 
breeding enterprises soon made him a conspicuous figure 



manner the various horses that were then under his 
charge. American Eclipse was still regarded as one of 
the greatest of American horses, and his famous race 
with Henry had by no means passed out of remem- 
brance. Colonel Blackburn then had American Eclipse 
in his stable, and Mr. Clav, thinking to corner him. asked 
him what he could say new of that great thoroughbred. 
For a moment the Colonel seemed nonplussed; then, 
rising to his feet and lifting his glass, he said in the most 
courtly manner. " Eclipse, among horses, as Henry Clay 
among men," and everybody conceded that the tables 
had been cleverly turned upon Kentucky's beloved son. 
Colonel Blackburn lived until 1867. 

Among the early turfmen and breeders of Virginia, 
the Honorable John M. Botts occupied a conspicuous 
position. He was active in political affairs and fre- 
quently held office by the gift of his fellow citizens. At 
the same time he was an extensive breeder of thorough- 



among the turfmen of his period. His racing establish- breds, a frequenter of the race course, and gave intel 



ment was for many years under the charge of Mr. Wvnd- 
ham Walden. and among his best horses were Britannic. 
Cayuga, Russell. Mars. Correction, Ambulance, Chatham 
and St. Florian. The magnificent Morris Park that bears 
his name is an enduring monument to his devoted and 
far-sighted interest in racing. Mr. Morris died in iSqt, 
and his sons, Messrs. Alfred H. and David H. Morris, 
succeeded to the racing interests of the family in the 
third genei'ation. 

The names of all the distinguished turfmen of the 
South would fill a volume, but some of them shine with 
particular splendor. No one of his generation was more 
admired than Colonel E. M. Blackburn, of Kentucky. 



gent consideration to the development of the race horse 
and to all questions relating to affairs of the turf. Col- 
onel David McDaniel. whose name occurs so frequently 
on the pages of the early history of the American turf, 
was an intimate friend of Mr. Botts, but both of them 
believing most unreservedly in the supreme quality of 
the horses respectively bred by them, there were fre- 
quently times when the natural rivalries engendered by 
the race course would strain their friendship to the point 
of breaking. In a certain race at Petersburgh, Va., Mr. 
Botts had entered a young mare that already possessed a 
record and was held in high favor. Everybody, includ- 
ing the owner, believed that she was a sure winner on 



Colonel Blackburn's parents were among the very first this occasion, and she was allowed to carry over-weight 



settlers in the Blue Grass State, and he was one of the 
first children born in Woodford County. Throughout 
his lifetime he was interested in horses, and for more 
than half a century was conspicuous in all the turf activ- 
ities of the United States. He was the owner of those 
famous champions. American Eclipse and Grey Eagle, 
the heroes of some of the greatest equine struggles that 
the American turf has ever known. 

Colonel Blackburn devoted himself exclusively to farm- 
ing operations and to the raising of thoroughbreds, and, 
save in racing, was not identified with public affairs. He 
enjoyed the intimate acquaintance of many of the famous 
statesmen and public men of his day, and never was 
happier than when entertaining them under his roof and 
descanting upon the superior merits of his horses. A 
pleasant incident is related of him as showing his faith 
in the thoroughbreds that he owned and his composure 
and readiness of wit in emergencies. Upon the occasion 
in question, he was entertaining the great statesman, 
Henry Clay, and other gentlemen, and. as was usual 
with him. had been praising in the most extravagant 



in order to enhance the glory of her victory. But the 
best laid plans oft go awry. Colonel McDaniel had an 
unknown filly engaged in the same stake, and during 
the progress of the race chaffed Mr. Botts on his over- 
confidence. His manner so exasperated his former 
friend that the latter seriously quarreled with him, and 
when Colonel McDaniel's filly won the race, his chagrin 
was so deep that he refused to be reconciled. 

The conspicuous part that was played by Mr. Richard 
Ten Broeck in American turf affairs previous to the time 
of the Civil War, and especially his invasion of England, 
has fixed his name firmly upon the pages of American 
turf history. During his long and active career he owned 
some of the best horses that were ever stripped on the 
course, and was as successful as most men of his day. 
He created a genuine surprise when he went to England 
in 1 8^6, and the English turfmen scarcely knew how to 
take him. He was criticised severely in many quarters, 
was subjected to much unjust suspicion, and dropped 
considerable money into the pockets of the English bet- 
ters. His experience abroad was not altogether happy ; 



277 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



but it is doubtful if. aside from his lack of success with 
the horses that he took over, he ever realized that he was 
not having a pleasant tim.\ Mr. Ten Broeck was a 
native of New York State, where he was born early in 
the century. As his name cleaily indicates, he was a 
descendant of one of the old Dutch pioneers. In 182c), 



who knew him to fondly cherish. His colors were seen 
at all the important race meetings, and so frequently at 
one time did they come in at the head of the field that it 
was jocularly remarked that the Northein tLirf must have 
been created for the special benefit of the Lorillards. 
The names of some of the most noted horses of this 



he was sent to West Point and studied there for several quarter of a century were identified with Westbrooke. 

years, but did not remain long enough to graduate. Tom Ochiltree, for whom Mr. Lorillard paid $7, =,00 when 

Among his fellow students were Generals Lee and he was three years old. stood there, and Ambush. Loit- 

Magruder. of Virginia, and General Emory, of Maryland, erer, Harold and other famous ones were ti'ained on its 

He accumulated a considerable property as a result of his track. Monitor, son of Glenelg and Minx, was perhaps 

long connection with the tuif, and in the latter years of the most famous member of the stable. Second only to 

his life settled in (California, where he met with mis- Monitor were such cracks as Trafalgar, Volusia, Reveller, 



fortunes that bore heavily upon him. 

Few turfmen in this generation have been more con- 
spicuous or more deserving of recognition for their 
abundant services to the cause of racing than the two 
brothers, Messi's. Pierie and George L. Lorillard. Both 



Roistei'er. Thackeray, Glideaway. Hawthorne, Mentor, 
Louisette, Hopeful. Emulation, Economy, Triton, Sur- 
pi'ise. King Arthur. Velure, Souci, Dahlia. Ferida, Idalia, 
Grenada. Greenland. Aella, Memento and other winners. 
Spinaway came from Westbrooke to carry the blue and 



of them bore an important part in the revival of Ameri- orange to success in the Juvenile, the Foam, the Hopeful 
can racing in the early seventies, and for a time they and the July Stakes and to win the title of the American 
rivaled each otlier in the bi-illiant success of their respect- Crucifi.x. 



ive stables. In later years Mr. Pierre Lorillard attained 
to greater fame through his success on the English turf. 
His career began in 1871, and has continued almost with- 
out interruption down to the closing years of the cen- 
tury. He first purchased two English mares, Girasol and 



Identified with miscellaneous sporting affairs in the 
South during the second quarter of the century, Mr. 
Henry Price McGrath was afterward known as one of 
the most popular and enterprising turfmen of the coun- 
try. A native Kentuckian, he was born in 1814, and 



Blue Stocking, from Sir Joseph Hawley, and, bringing while a youth participated in the high play and outdoor 
them to this country, bred from the former Saxon, the sports that were then the doininant characteristics of life 



winner of the August Stakes at Monmouth Park in 1872 
and of the Belmont Stakes in 1874. 

The first horse that Mr. Lorillard ran was Free Lance, 
in 187^ At that time his colors were scarlet, with blue 
cap. The following year he changed to cheri'v and 
black, which shortly became one of the most famous 



in the Mississippi Valley, He was uniformly successful 
as a plunger, and was one of the nerviest betting men of 
that time and section. Removing to New Orleans, he 
continued his career in sporting circles, and soon after 
began to own and run race horses. After a short turn 
in California at the time of the gold excitement he re- 



colors ever known to the American turf. In the Saxon turned to New Orleans and entered more vigorously than 



year he liad also Attila, James A. and others, and in sub- 
sequent years ran such famous I'acers as Parole, Faithless, 
Merciless, Barricade, Idalia, Bombast, Perfection, Zoo 
Zoo, Spartan, Pique, Uncas, Duke of Montrose. Pizzaro, 
Drake Carter. Pontiac, Wanda, Dewdrop and manv 
others scarcely less distinguished. His splendid cam- 
paign in England in 1S7Q and subsequent years with 
Iroquois, Parole and otlieis has been fully described in 
another chapter in this volume. It constitutes one of the 
proudest pages in the history of the American turf. 
During his lifetime Mr. Lorillard has been one of the best 
patrons that the bi'eedeis of the United States have evei' 
had. He paid large prices for promising yearlings, and 
after he began to breed for himself procured the best 
brood mares and stallions that money could buy. 

Rivaling his brother of the Rancocas Stable in all that 
goes to make distinction upon the turf, Mr. George L. 



ever into the racing business. Captain Beard by York- 
shire out of a Glencoe mare, was the first horse of prom- 
inence that he owned. Otheis in his string were En- 
dorser, and Black Snake by Albion out of a Leviathan 
mare. Black Snake afterward became famous as Lucy 
Fowler and as the dam of R. B. Connelly, Tom Bowling, 
Aaron Pennington and Calvin. During the early sixties 
Mr. McCirath was in the North, where he was associated 
with Mr. John Morrissey. Aftei' the wai- he established 
the McGrathiana Stud, neai' Lexington. Ky., and bred 
some celebrated horses, among them being Blarney 
Stone. Tipperary. Tom Bowling. Captain Beard, Susan 
Ann, Aristides, Chesapeake, Jurv and Leonard. 

Mr. John Hunter, who was for many years a partner 
of Mr. William R. Tiavers and a leading spirit in the field 
of Northern racing immediately after the war, belonged 
to the famous Westchester County contingent. As a 



Lorillard. proprietor of the Westbrooke Farm, was one breeder and owner none of his time surpassed him in 
of those turfmen whose memory it is the piide of all infiuence. and in that great dav of American racing he 



27b 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



was foremost in upholding the colors of the North. The 
breeding establishment that, in conjunction with Mr- 
Travers. he maintained at Pelham. was one of the most 
valuable factors in developing the thoroughbred of the 
period that then existed north of Mason and Dixon's line. 
In 1887, Mr. Hunter succeeded the Honorable August 
Belmont as president of the American Jockey Club. 

The history of the turf and the history of Woodford 
County. Kentucky, are indissolubly bound together. If 
the roster of pioneer turfmen had not held the names of 
Buford, Blackburn, Harper, Alexander, Swigert, Kinkead 
and Ford, and if they and others of secondary stand- 
ing had not played their parts on the breeding farm and 
at the race track, the annalists of the American turf 
would have a different story to tell. These men raced 
horses in the days when thoroughbreds were run for 
^lory and bookmaking had not been invented. No one 
of these Kentuckians was more illustrious than " Uncle " 
John Harper, who died in 187^, and who laid the foun- 
dation of the great thoroughbred nursery at Nantura 
Farm many years ago. The Harper family had been 
identified with Woodford County for over one hundred 
~~years. The records show that in 170=) Jacob Harper, Sr., 
father of Mr. John Harper, purchased the estate that 
has since remained in the possession of the family. 
Originally it embraced 760 acres of land, and the name, 
Nantura, given to it in modern times, was from the 
great race and brood mare who bore the name, the dam 
of Longfellow. 

■■ Uncle " John Harper was a noted character in many 
ways. He was reputed to be worth fully a c]uarter of a 
million dollars; but, nevertheless, he lived in the most 
democratic fashion. When traveling he slept with his 
horses, and was as attached to them as a father to his 
children. He owned and raced many horses, but his 
career was crowned, toward the close of his life, by 
Longfellow, who was foaled in 18(37. Although he was 
very skilful in breeding horses, he was deficient in liter- 
ary culture, and often found it harder work to name his 
colts than to train them for racing. A good story is told 
of him in this connection. At one time he was in des- 
perate straits over the question of naming in a suitable 
manner two of his yearlings. After struggling with the 
problem for many days he gave up beaten and called in 
his friend. Dr. Weldon. Said Dr. Weldon. when the 
situation was explained to him: 

" Let us see. Some famous horses have borne names 
that begin with L. There's Loadstone, Lecomte and 
Lexington himself, you know. Why not, for luck, pick 
names out of the L's for these little ones.'' Now there's 
the name of one of America's great poets, Longfellow. 
That's a good name. Suppose we call the Nantura colt 
Longfellow. Now you want a good name for Fanny 
Holton's colt. Well, let me see. We must have an- 



other L. What do you say to Lyttleton.^" He was a 
great lawyer and jurist, you know. ' Coke upon Lyttle- 
ton ' is a standard legal work, and his name would 
appeal to the legal fraternity. Call him Lyttleton. " 

So the colts were named Longfellow and Lyttleton, 
and their owner seemed mightily pleased. But, after 
all, the keen appreciation of the literary character of 
the two names soon left "Uncle John. " and he either 
forgot the significance of the names and their origin, or 
else decided fully to ignore it. And so it came about 
that, not long after, when he was asked to exhibit his 
colts upon one occasion, he introduced them in this 
wise: "That's Longfellow. We call him Longfellow 
because he's long and big. T'other colt's Little 'un. 
We call him that because he's kind o' little." 

Another famous member of the Harper family, who 
shared with " Uncle John " the turf distinction that per- 
tained to the name, was Mr. Frank B. Harper, a nephew 
of the elder Harper. For many long years uncle and 
nephew were intimately associated in the management 
of Nantura Farm and in racing with one of the famous 
strings of thoroughbreds a generation ago. A man of 
large means. Mr. Harper never married, but devoted him- 
self throughout life to his beloved thoroughbreds. His 
favorite horse was probably Ten Broeck, whom he raised 
from the time that that famous animal was a suckling 
;olt. Mr. Harper has always held that horses are not a 
bit faster to-day than they were twenty years ago, but 
that the difference is all in the track. He has never been 
brought to believe that any of the records of Ten Broeck 
could be surpassed by the modern horses if all ran on 
the same tracks. Mr. Harper maintained his active con- 
nection with the turf until he was nearly seventy years 
of age, his life and that of his uncle covering fully a cen- 
tury of American turf history. It is a somewhat singular 
fact that, notwithstanding his long and active turf career, 
he never bet on one of his horses in his life. Old turf- 
men will not soon forget his famous and oft-repeated 
injunction to his jockeys, to run his horses from "eend 
to eend," an order that was a fair index of his character. 

One's pen might run on indefinitely recording pleasant 
recollections of the great turfmen who, in the past, con- 
tributed so much to the development of the American 
thoroughbred and to the popularizing of American rac- 
ing, and who have long since passed away leaving only 
the result of their able and disinterested efforts as an 
enduring monument. Some of them, as we have seen, 
have come down even to the present era and their names 
are connected with those of their successors, who are 
still prominent and active in every good measure that 
contributes to the welfare of the turf. As difficult as it 
has been to enumerate even a tithe of the names of those 
who gave the American turf its standing in previous 
generations, an even more herculean task would be that 



279 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



of attempting to comprehensively record the shining ning turf his attention, being tirst a silent partner with 

lights of the turf of to-day. Many of these gentlemen J. J. McCafferty and Enoch Wishard. The combination 

have already been referred to and their connections with owned such well-known performers as Helen Nichols, 

the turf more or less fully recorded on other pages of Hugh Penny, Wishard and Queenie Trowbridge, all of 

this volume, whereon the accounts of great racing events, whom made excellent records. Subsequently Mr. Duke, 

famous thoroughbreds, notable breeding establishments in association with Mr. Wishard, organized the firm of 

and racing associations have been presented. A repeti- Uuke & Wishard, which has since raced with abundant 

tion of their names here is not demanded, since thoughts success. They took a good string of horses to England 

of them must be present in the minds of every one at in i8c)s, and won many important races there, their stable 

all interested in turf affairs. including Mac Briggs, Wishard, George Ketchum and 

But there still remain scores, nay, hundreds of otheis, Helen Nichols, 
equally good and true turfmen and as earnestly devoted The career of Mr. Enoch Wishard has been largely 

to the cause of racing as any to whom attention has been coincident with that of his partner. Mr. William Duke, 

heretofore specifically called. No record of the American Ji'. Mr. Wishard was born in Indianapolis in iS6^, and, 

turf of the present day can in any wise be complete like manv other noted turfmen, was tirst interested in 



without some account of their participation in it. Their 
labors are an important part of its history. The brief 
consideration that only can be given to them in this con- 
nection will, however inadequate it may appear, as a 
comprehensive presentation of theii' activity, be at least 
sufficient to indicate in a measure the character of the 



the trotting horse. He entered the ranks of trainers 
of thoroughbreds by taking charge of the stable of the 
well-known Western owners. Scroggan Brothers, and he 
is now considered one of the best and most careful train- 
ers in this country. His success is the result of careful 
study and the most unceasing care, and he gives his 



racing men of this period and the incalcLilable value of undivided personal attention to the animals in his stable, 

the services that they have rendered in piomoting the The success of the English campaign of the tlrm was in 

sport and in elevating the American turf to an even no small measure due to Mr. Wishard's skill in bringing 

higher position than it has ever befoi'e occupied. their horses to the post in good condition. Messrs. 

Without desiring to institute anv invidious distinctions, Duke & Wishaid have now in their stable Geoi'ge H. 

it is only fail' to say that no race meeting would be com- Ketcham. Highhoe, Babieca, H. Davis, Healey, Stamina 

plete without the presence of Mr. William C. Daly. or. as and Doremus. the two first named by Himyar and the 

he is familiarly known, '" Eather Bill." Mr. Daly was others by Farandole, Greenland, Devotee (or Greenland), 

born in Ireland in 1849, and came of a racing family on Gieat Tom and Luke Blackburn. 



both sides. He was brought to this country when he 
was only eight years of age, and as a boy lived in South 
Windsor, Conn, After he had served an apprenticeship 
as a machinist he began trading in horses, and at the 
eai'ly age of seventeen made his start on the turf with 
the thoroughbred mare, Lorina. Since that time, a 
period of nearly a third of a century, he has enjoyed 
wonderful success on the turf. A list of the horses that 
he has handled would be exceptional in extent and char- 
acter. In his stable have been such good ones as Civil 
Service, Fidelio. Florence M., Bolero and others. At the 
present time he has in his string Rifler, Arabian, Her 
Own. Mahony, Father Bill, Kitty Daly, Eileen 1).. First 
Fruit. Merlin, Tinkler, General Maceo, Hartford Hotel 
and a half-dozen promising youngsters by Magnetizer, 
Badge, Uncas and Fiddlesticks. 

The reputation of Mr. William Duke, Ji. , as a turfman 
is not confined to the United States. His career in this 



Among the greatest horses this country ever possessed 
have been Bramble, Rhadamanthus. Hindoo. Luke Black- 
bLirn. Miss Woodford, Potomac, Raceland, Tremont and 
many others, all of whom at some time during their 
careei' received their training under the hands of Mr, 
James G. Rowe, oi' '■Jimmy " Rowe, as he is popularly 
known. Few, if aiiy, ti'aiiiers have ever had a wider 
experience, or a more brilliantly successful career than 
Mr. Rowe. He was born in Virginia in i8=,-j, and for 
thirty years has been ' prominently identified with the 
turf. He was first engaged with Colonel David Mc- 
Daniel, when that turfman was at the head of the 
fanious McDaniel Confederacy. In 1S72, he had his first 
niount when he lode the high class colt, Joe Daniels, to 
victory, and the following year he repeated his success 
on Springbok. His career in the saddle was of short 
duration, however, for he grew too fast; but he lode 
such famous horses as Harry Bassett, Tubman, Katie 



country has been eminently interesting, and he has been Pease and others. Then he engaged in training. Hav- 

among the number of those Americans who. in modern ing charge first of the stable of Davis Brothers, he was 

times, have invaded the English turf. Born in Wellsville. afterward in charge of Dwyer Brothers' string, was three 

N. Y., in 18S7, Mr. Duke has been identified with horse- years with the late Honorable August Beliiiont, and also 

flesh and racing from his boyhood, his early experience served acceptably for four years as a starter. Since i8q^, 

being with trotters. Since 1887, he has given the run- he has been engaged in ti'aining. He has had the handling 

2S0 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



of the Brookdale horses of Colonel I hoinpson, and of 
that u-entleman's successors, Messis. I.. S. and W. P. 
Thompson. He is also tlie senioi' membei- of the firm of 
James G. Rowe & Co., which has in tiainiiit!; for 1898 
these promising two-year olds: l.Limen and Tendresse, 
both bv Kintiilike: Juventas and (aiiTent, both by Juvenal : 
Imitation, by Rev del Rev; Morninsj;, by l.ontj;' Taw. and 
Opera Glass, by St. Blaise. 

''^Had Mr, David T. Pulsifer done nothing more for the 
Ameiican turf than to discover and rLin the great Tenny. 
his name would be forever cherished bv all lovers of the 
thoroughbred and of good racing. Mr. Pulsifer is one 
of the gentlemen who have given dignity to the Ameri- 
can turf. A native of Massachusetts, where he was 
born in 1832, he had an early experience in the West and 
in Northern New York in the trotting field, it was not 
until latei'. however, that he became connected with the 
turf, when he owned and ran PLinster, Gunner and Sir 
Joseph, in later years his stable included such well- 
known horses as Grimalda. Rapine. Housatonic, Brother 
Dam and Drum Major. The wonderful career of Tennv, 
who, as a vearling, was so unpromising that it seemed 
scarcely worth while to train him. eventually gave to his 
owner a national reputation and a fortune, and Mr. 
PLilsifier has never ceased to feel a justifiable pride in his 
wonderful ""swayback." 

Born in Bethlehem, Pa., in i860, Mr. John E. Madden, 
one of the most prominent owners and trainers of to- 
day, drove and won races before he had reached the age 
of sixteen. He was eventually one of the largest buyers 
of high priced trotters in the United States, among 
horses of this class that he owned being Robert McGreg- 
or, Suisun, Rachel and Bel Verra. The first thorough- 
bred that he possessed was Castaway 11., who, after he 
had passed out of Mr. Madden 's possession, won the 
Brooklyn Handicap. Some of the principal horses that 
have been connected with Mr. Madden's stable have been 
Applause, Harry Reed, Dundee, Cociuette, Lollie Easton 
and Handspun. He also owned Hamburg and Howland, 
two of the best two-year olds ever seen in this country. 
Hamburg he sold to Mr. Marcus Daly. In his stable in 
i8q8 are Howland, Chelsea, Baritaria, Duoro, Plaudit, 
Benares, Dissembler, Great Bend, Desperado, David Gar- 
rick and many others. Plaudit is a double Derby win- 
ner, having taken both the Kentucky Derby and the 
Oakley Derby in 1898, and in this connection it is inter- 
esting to recall that another one of Mi'. Madden's horses, 
Kingman, was also a double Derby winner. 

Combining in his person the active work of owner, 
trainer and jockey, Mr. John J. McCafferty has long held 
a prominent place in American racing. He is a native of 
Texas, where he was born in i860, and his first experi- 
ence in life was as a ranchman on the Western plains, 
and with his brother, Mr. A. T. McCafferty, he was part 



proprietor of the Sycamore Ranch for the raising of 
horses. He took the first steps toward his racing career 
by riding thoroughbred horses at local meetings. Finally 
he turned his attention entirely to the American thor- 
oughbred, and since i88q, when he made his debut at 
the leading racing centres, he has been one of the fore- 
most owners in this country. In 189:5, he owned forty- 
two thoroughbreds, one of the largest stables in the 
country. Only a few of the great horses that he has 
owned can be mentioned here. Among them have been 
Helen Nichols, Applegate, Hugh Penny, Nero, Aloha, 
Fred Taral, Bo Peep, Lady Marv, Arbuckle, Winged Foot, 
Abuse and Don Bias. His stable for 1898 consists of 
Burch. Gotham. Lexington Pirate, Mt. Washington, and 
these two-year olds, Et^'ie Ainslie, Himtine, Gold Mine, 
Mrs. Jimmy and Knickerbocker. 

Ml'. David Gideon, who is a native of New York, hav- 
ing been born in 1847, made his first venture as an owner 
in 1S79, when he secured two well-known jumpeis, 
Bei'tha aiid Judith. He fornied a partnership with Mr. 
John Daly, and the firm name of Gideon & Daly becanie 
as prominent and their stable as powerful as any upon 
the turf. Among the horses that have been run under 
the colors of Gideon & Daly were Highland Fling, Spar- 
taii. UkuTiinai'v. His Highness, Requital, The Butterflies. 
Ramapo, Waltzer. Hazlet and manv otheis. The pLitLir- 
ity Stakes were carried off three times for the Messi's. 
Gideon & Daly, by His Highness, Requital and The But- 
terflies, respectively, while Ramapo won the Suburban 
for them. The Ramapo Stud Farm of the firm at Holm- 
del, N, J,, has long been one of the best establishments 
of its kind in the North. 

Mr. Walter B. Jennings is another example of the 
gentlemen who have turned froni prosperous mercantile 
pursuits to the tuif and have there achieved success. 
The first horses that he owned and raced were Allog and 
Bingen. and with theiii he won many races on the West- 
ern tracks. In 1882, he brought his stable to the East, 
in his string at that time being Ruth, Mattie K. and 
several others. Since 1884. he has raced permanently at 
the great tracks in the East, and among his noted horses 
have been Ten Strike and Bonnie Lee, He is now 
engaged in breeding as well as racing. The firm of W. 
B. Jennings & Co,, of which he is the senior member, 
has in training Miss Lynah, Tripping, Trolley, Woodford 
Fillv. Ping, Glorian, Brier Sweet, Maxello and these two- 
year olds. Lavator by Salvator, Speedmas by Candelmas, 
Mossbrae by Watercress, Sombre by Midlothian. 

As tne owner of Dr. Hasbrouck, who was on the turf 
for four years and won 41 out of the 88 races in which 
he was started. Mr. W. M. Barrick is not likely soon to 
be forgotten in the annals of the American turf. Mr. 
Barrick, who is not only an owner, but is also the trainer 
of his own horses, has in his stable several tried thor- 



281 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



oughbreds: Curacoa by Top Gallant out of Wauculla, 
Maurice by Rayon d'Or out of Mauiine, and Sun Up by 
Buchanan out of Sunlight. His two-year olds are High- 
land Prince by Badge out of Queen of the Clans. George 
Simons by Simple Simon out of Armida, Oakwood Belle 
by Fonso out ot Janette. Zoroaster by Rayon d'Or out ot 
Astoria, and Felician by Rayon d'Or out of Felicia. 

Born in Kildare, h-eland, in i8^q, Mr. William Jen- 
nings, now a famous breeder, owner and trainer, entered 
upon his duties as an e.xercise boy in a stable in Ireland 
when he was fifteen years of age. Eventually he became 
a trainer in the same stable, under the dii'ection of his 
employer. Mr. William Disnay, and afterward became 
part proprietor of a stable. About 1864. he came to this 
country. Spending two years in Canada, he then located 
in Connecticut, and shortly became connected with the 
celebrated Woodburn Farm, in Kentucky. In i8t>8, he 
began for himself, and has owned such horses as Kildare, 
Glenmore. Gieentleld. Balbriggan, Remorse and numer- 
ous others of good chaiacter. His blue jacket and white 
cap have been successful in many a good race. His 
breeding farm near Baltimore is a first-class establish- 
ment and he has in tiaining such good ones as Atlantus. 
Miss Lillian. Oceana, Sailor King, Acrobat and Wood- 
ranger, while his two-year olds are Althea. Edwin S., 
Wesa, Maiylandei', Glengar and Ruxton, all by Dutch 
Roller, and Avoca by Atlantic. 

A Kentuckian raised among thoioughbreds. Mi'. Walter 
C. Rollins' choice of an avocation was marked out for 
him in early youth. His first employment was in 1874 
upon the McGrathiana Stock Farm, when he was thirteen 
years of age. Beginning as an e.xercise boy. he was 
connected with several different employers, and enjoys 
the special distinction of having broken the great Fox- 
hall. Afterward he trained for Mr. E. J. McElmeel, the 
first horse that he handled being the old-time performer, 
General Monroe. From Mr. McElmeel he went to the 
racing establishment of Commodore Kittson, and then 
was for two years with Mr. Pierre Lorillard, Jr. For a 
short time he owned a public training stable, and then 
trained for the Oneck Stable of Dr. Gideon L. Knapp. 
where he handled that star performer, Sir Walter, with 
whom he won the Brooklyn Handicap in iSqb. He still 
retains his connection with the Oneck Stable, and also 
has several good horses of his own, including Deerslayer 
by Midlothian, Larequois by h'oquois. and Little Joe and 
Cousin Jess, both by Uncle Jess. 

in 1886. Mr. A. F. Walcott began his racing career 
under the name of the Fairfax Stable. He was at one 
time president of the Monmouth Park Association, also 
a member of the Board of Control, and is now a member 
of The Jockey Club. Among the best horses that he has 
owned have been Orifiamme, Cyclops, Chancellor. 
Ruperta, Melba, Castaway 11.. who won the Brooklyn 



Handicap in iSqo; Pessara, who was second in the 
Brooklyn Handicap in 1892, and Diablo, who won the 
the same event in i8qi. 

Among the young gentlemen of wealth and character 
who are identified with racing is Mr. Roy Carruthers. 
His ownership of Reservoir by Regent out of a Longfel- 
low mare was his first venture upon the turf. After- 
ward he owned Song and Dance, with whom he was 
very successful. He enjoys the advantage of a wide 
personal acquaintance with racing matters, both in this 
country and in Europe. He is now the owner of that 
excellent race horse. Howard Mann. 

Mr. Francis D. Beard is not only a prominent turfman, 
but he is well known in New York society as an accom- 
plished amateur whip, especially excelling as a tandem 
driver. In company with his brother, Mr. John R. 
Beard, he organized the Erie Stable, but since the close 
of the season of iSqb he has carried on an independent 
stable of his own. The horses that he has now in train- 
ing are Dutch Skater, Nanki Pooh, Beaufort, Jefferson, 
Blazewood, St. 'Nicholas and Tahama. At one time he 
owned that staunch horse, Lazzarone. 

From Maine to California Mr. Patrick Dunne is known 
and respected in turf circles. His career began in 188s, 
when he was foreman for Mr. Edward Corrigan in Chi- 
cago. Since i8qi, he has been in the field with a stable 
of his own, and has been remarkably successful. In his 
stable at the present time he has these well-known 
horses: Flying Dutchman. Salvable. Captive, Czarowitz, 
Estaca, Stentor, Swango. Dacian. Rey Salazar and Rath- 
more. His two-year olds are Approval by Pessara; 
Ailyar by Himyar: Barrier by Leonatus; Prince Harry by 
Harry O'Fallon: Survivor by Strathmore, and Cambrian 
and Peleus by Hindoo. 

One of the most practical and thoroughly experienced 
turfmen among contemporary owners is Mr. Frank 
Regan. He began his career as an exercise boy in the 
stable of the Honorable August Belmont. Then he had 
several years' experience as a jockey, and. with Mr. John 
Huggins, trained the horses of Messrs. A. J. Cassatt and 
Pierre Lorillard. Since i8qo, he has been in the field 
himself as an owner. He is now the owner of Nay Nay 
by Kinglike: Percy F. by Rainbow; Octave by Quick- 
lime: Mohegan by Faverdale: Sister Fox by Silver Fox: 
Saguache by Britannic; Russella Walden by Russell, and 
Sir Florian and The Diver by St. Florian. 

A veteran horseman and a thoroughly experienced 
trainer. Mr. Charles H. Hughes has handled some of the 
greatest race horses of the present period. For many 
years he had a public training stable in the West, and 
afterward trained the horses of Messrs. Leigh & Rose 
and of Bromley & Co. He it was who helped develop 
the speedy qualities of such cracks as Clifford, Laz- 
zarone, Ducat, Chant, Ida Pickwick and others of renown. 



282 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



In the stable of Bromley & Co., a firm that is, compar- 
atively speaking, a newcomer upon the turf, we have 
another interesting example of the participation of un- 
professional hoisemen in racing. It is the presence of 
such gentlemen as Messrs. J. E. Bromley and A. Feather- 
stone, who are the partners in this firm, that has done so 
much to strengthen the turf in time past and that may be 
depended upon to be one of its substantial mainstays in 
the future. When racing affairs come completely into 
the hands ot purely professional turfmen, as has too 
frequently happened in the past, then is apt to begin a 
process of disintegration that in the course of time is 
sure to bring more or less disaster upon the sport and all 
connected with it. As we have repeatedly had occasion 
to point out in our examination of the history of the 
American turf, this has, again and again, been a com- 
mon experience in racing affairs. 

Without at all decrying the so-called professional 
element, or in any way underrating the very great and 
valuable work that it has done in developing and sup- 
porting the turf, it is impossible completely to close our 
eyes to the fact that the fullest prosperity of racing must 
be at all times dependent upon the association with it of 
gentlemen who are wholly disinterested turfmen, and 
are concerned only in maintaining the sport in the high- 
est degree of respectability, with only secondary consid- 
eration of it as a personal business enterprise. It has 
been those who, possessed of a profound admiration 
and love for the thoroughbred, have given themselves 
over to the allurements of racing merely as a relaxation 
from business and trom delight in the sport, that have 
ever exercised the most powerful and wholesome influ- 
ences in working out the salvation of the turf, and mak- 
ing it not only the enjoyable but the altogether dignified 
and socially popular institution that it now is. 

Prominent representatives of the class of racing men 
to whom we have just referred are Messrs. Bromley and 
Featherstone. Both gentlemen have long been associ- 
ated with each other in business relations entirely dis- 
connected with the turf. They were pioneers in the 
bicycle trade, which has attracted so many of our ablest 
business men in this generation. In this line they have 
been notably successful and enjoy a trade that extends 
throughout all the world. Their energy and capacity 
have brought to them the prosperity and the wealth 
that are the rewards of industry and enterprise, and has 
given them the means for indulgence in other occupa- 
tions outside of that to which they have mainly devoted 
themselves. Feeling the necessity of more or less relief 
from exacting business affairs, they have taken up rac- 
ing, principally for the pleasure that they find in it, 
rather than as a mere object of revenue. It is a side 
issue to their important business pursuits, but they have 
gone into it with an enthusiasm and a careful attention 



to details that can scarcely fail to make it as profitable to 
them as it may be enjoyable. While they are in no 
sense engaged in racing merely for the money there 
may be in it, they hope, however, to win sufficient to 
demonstrate at least that their venture is successful. The 
only real test of the success of a racing stable is, after all, 
a monetary one. While the owner may, perhaps, be 
unconcerned for the amounts that he may win, he can- 
not be indifferent to the fact that if his horses do not 
win he can scarcely be regarded as a successful owner. 

A laudable ambition for success and a desire to have 
his ability recognized must be controlling influences 
in directing the movements of every turllnan, and for 
these reasons it is particularly gratifying to him when he 
is able to point to valuable stakes and purses that he has 
carried off, even though he may be in a large measure 
independent of the mere money considerations involved. 
Messrs. Bromley and Featherstone look at the matter in 
this light, and by liberal expenditure and the main- 
tenance of a large and excellent establishment, are right- 
fully aiming for that distinction in turf affairs which is 
the gratification of every enthusiastic turfman and to 
which theii' energy and enthusiasm would seem to fully 
entitle them. The Bromley colors, canary, black cross 
sashes and cull's, canary cap, black tassel, have been 
carried by many excellent performers, and are often 
seen at the head of the field in brilliant events. 

For the season of 1898 the Bromley Stable has some 
thirty-six horses under the care of that admirable trainer, 
Mr. Julius Bauer. Several members of the string have 
already achieved reputation and are regarded as horses of 
the first class. They are valuable animals and have 
commanded high prices, but the c]uestion of price has 
never been a consideration with Bromley & Co. From 
the first tliey have aimed only to secure horses of good 
quality, let the cost be what it might. Their constant 
aim has been to own first-class performers. Their 
string includes such well tried lunners as the eight- 
year old black horse, Nick by imported Mortemer out 
of Retribution; the six-year old bay, Free Advice by 
Leonatus out of Eva S. : the five-year old chestnut. First 
Mate by Fonso out of Shipmate; the five-year old brown 
Rondo by imported Pirate of Penzance out of Song; the 
five-year old bay. Semper Ego by Logic out of La 
Sylphide; the four-year old chestnut, Typhoon II., by 
Top Gallant out of Uolly Varden ; the four-year old brown, 
Howard S. by Whistle Jacket out of Zelica; the four-year 
old chestnut. On Deck by Whistle Jacket out of Semper 
Paratus, and the four-year old chestnut, Orion by Han- 
over out of Blessing. Their three-year olds are the bay 
filly Kenmore Queen by Ben Strome out of Rose Leaf; 
the bay colt, Danforth by Duke of Montrose out of 
Bo Peep; the bay colt. Van .Antwerp by Bsher out 
of Refiection: the chestnut colt, Nuto by Masetto out of 



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THE AMERICAN TURF 



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284 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Ann McCoy; the cheslnut cult. I'rincc Lee by Strath- 
more out of Bonnie Lee, and the bay filly Bonaclea bv 
Esher out of Sis O'Lee. 

The stable also contains some promising two-year 
olds who come from distinguished ancestors and have 
in their veins some of the bluest blood known to the 
Stud Book. These youngsters, of whom good things 
may be reasonably expected, are the bay (illy, Blaisedora 
by St. Blaise out of Fedora; the bay filly La Cheviot by 
Cheviot out of Elsie S. ; the bay colt Oration by Cheviot 
out of Gold Basis; the bay colt Disturber by Exile out of 
Meddle; the bay colt Faustile by Exile out of Faust Rose; 
the black colt Kingrica by Kingstock out of Henrica; the 
chestnut colt Kinglete by Kingstock out of Complete; 
the black colt Kingmaker by Kingstock out of Fate; the 
chestnut colt Flying Scotchman by Macduff out of Lizzie 
C. ; the bav colt Composer by Wagner out of Miss 
Barnes; the bay colt James Tod by Strathmore out of 
Colleen Rhue; the chestnut colt Falseban by Deceiver 
out of May Ban; the chestnut tlllv Onondaga's Pride by 
Onondaga out of Frederick's Pride; the bay tlllv Monletta 
by Duke of Montrose out of Burletta; the bay tllly Anitra 
by Duke of Montrose out of Miss Mattie; the bay tllly 
Nike by Duke of Montrose out of Virginity; the bay colt 
Rosebed by Duke of Montrose out of Violet; the bay 
tilly Rose O'Lee by Duke of Montrose out of Sis O'Lee; 
the brown colt Anselm by Duke of Montrose out of Miss 
Longford, and the bay colt Andronicus by Strathmore 
out of Ovation. 

Of the horses that Bromley & Co. have in training, 
Typhoon 11. has had perhaps the most distinguished 
career. As a two-year old he stood with the best in the 
season of 1896. His winnings then were seven in num- 
ber. He started in May by taking a four furlongs dash 
at St. Louis in so seconds, beating Kruna. Forsythe and 
others. At the same meeting he won a five furlongs 
dash in i minute, =;>2 seconds, beating Goshen, Forsythe 
and others, and at St. Louis in June he won another five 
furlongs dash in i minute, 2^4 seconds, beating Buck- 
videre, Parthemax, Goshen, Lincoln and others. These 
early victories were little more than warming up affairs 
for him and he next won the Brewers' Handicap Sweep- 
stakes at St. Louis, six furlongs, in i minute, 1-]^ sec- 
onds, over a heavy track, beating Lincoln II.. Buckvi- 
dere, Inca and Dare II., and carrying top weight, 1 18 
pounds. 

Still racing at St. Louis in August he won a six fur- 
longs dash in 1 minute, 15 seconds, carrying top weight 
and beating Dare II., Zamar II. and others. Then he 
won the Fast Mail Purse, also at St. Louis, >■- furlongs, 
in 1 minute, g'4 seconds, carrying top weight, 121 
pounds, defeating Gladys. Juanita. Forsythe and Gro- 
ganette. Coming East he won the Golden Rod Stakes 
at Sheepshead Bay in August, 7 liniongs, in 1 minute, 



28 seconds, beating Princess Flavia and Burlescjue, car- 
rying top weight and winning easily by i,'i lengths. 
.At Morris Park in October he won the Westchester 
High Weight Handicap, 6'i furlongs, in i minute, 22 
seconds, winning in a drive by a head and defeating 
Brandywine, George Rose. Storm King, Goshen and 
Hawarden. His supreme distinction in 180^7 was win- 
ning the Kentucky Derby, 1% miles, in 2 minutes, I2>4 
seconds, beating Ornament, Dr. Catlett, Dr Sheppard, 
Goshen and Ben Brown. His other victories that year 
were a 1 mile race at Memphis in i minute, 43 seconds; 
the Luehrmann Hotel Stakes at Memphis, 1 mile, in 1 
minute, 42 J4 seconds; the Peabody Hotel Handicap at 
Memphis, i >8 miles, in 1 minute, s6 seconds; the Me- 
morial Handicap Sweepstakes at St. Louis, i 's miles, in 
I minute, s6 seconds; the Club Members' Handicap at 
St. Louis. 1 '4 miles, in 2 minutes, 7}^ seconds, and a ^ 
mile race in i miiuite, ISJ4 seconds. And in the season 
of 1S98 he is still adding victories to his credit. 

Nick was an excellent two-year old. His earliest 
achievement that year was winning a -^a mile race at 
Guttenberg in 56 '4^ seconds, which he followed up by 
winning a '_• mile race at the same place in 49^ sec- 
onds. At Saratoga in July he repeated his half mile rec- 
ord at 4q'4^ seconds, when he won the Flash Stakes, 
defeating Postmaster, Kentucky Lady and others. At 
Saratoga he was also successful in winning a ?k mile 
race in i minute, 2 seconds, and a ^4. mile race in i min- 
ute, 16 seconds, and a 6;- furlongs race in i minute. 2} 
seconds, on which occasion carrying top weight, 107 
pounds, he beat Elk Knight, Pat Malloy, Jr., Rey del 
.Mar and others. In his aged form he has shown him- 
self possessed of sterling good qualities. 

First Mate has many good winning events to his 
credit. In 1895, at Latonia, he carried off the Maiden 
Stakes, covering the distance, ')& mile, in i minute, } 
seconds. In 1896, at Latonia, he won a Free Handicap, 
7 furlongs, in i minute, 33X seconds, beating Sir Vas- 
sar. Governor Boies, Howard Mann and others; won 
the Himyar Stakes, i "s miles, in i minute, 54^ seconds, 
beating Ramiro, Ben Holladay and others; won the 
Milldale Stakes, 6 furlongs, in i minute, 1 5 J/( seconds, 
and a i 'a mile handicap in i minute, 57 seconds. 

With the many good horses now in their string, 
Messrs. Bromley & Featherstone are likely to be power- 
ful factors in racing affairs in the immediate present. In 
fact, their presence has already made itself felt in a very 
decided manner at all the important meetings. More- 
over, the intluence of such gentlemen in connection v\ith 
racing is of the most healthful and stimulating character. 
It creates interest among outsiders and every lover of the 
turf will rejoice if the sport shall have the good fortune 
to receive into its ranks many other gen'lemen of similar 
character and of like enterprise. 



285 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




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Stii ring incidents have iicvci been lacking in tiic iiistory Manfully he stuck to his work, his stindiness and laith- 

olthe turt or in the careers of its leading representatives, fulness, as well as his intelligence, constantly winning 

Whether we consider the performances of the thorough- for him the approval of his employers and with this 

hreds, or refer to the activities of the gentlemen who came frequent advancements with increase of salary, 

have bred and run them, or who have maintained other Finally he attained to the proud position of holding a 

relations with the race course, the story is lull of inter- place that yielded him twelve dollars a week. Hven this 

esting episodes. Some of the most notable events ever was a sufficiently meagre income, but with it he not only 

recorded in the history of this country have been con- supported himself, but also aided in caring for his mother 

nected with the race course and the careers, not only of and sisters. As an illustration of his thoughtful atten- 

the great race horses but also of the great turfmen, have tion to the members of his family it is pleasant to record 

often had all the tascination of a brilliant romance. in this connection that when prosperity finally dawned 

Among the thousands who have been most conspic- upon him, his tlrst thoughts were for his mother. He 

uouslv identified with racing matters in this generation provided her with an elegant home, and the ability to do 



no one. peihaps. has come moie prominently to public 
attention than Mr. George E. Smith, who is recognized 
far and wide undei' the name of •'Pittsburg Phil." His 
experiences have, to a remarkable degree, constituted 
one of the most romantic sides to racing affairs in this 
generation. (]oLild his biography be recounted in IliII. 
it would be most interesting reading, and full of sugges- 
tiveness as illustrating the oppoitunities that the turf 
affords to a young man of capacity and dash. 



this undoubtedly gave him one of the greatest pleasures 
that he has ever known. 

Scarcely fifteen years have passed since Mr. Smith 
first became interested in racing. It was almost by 
accident that he was attracted to this sport, and that his 
judgment upon the capabilities of horses had the lirst 
opportunity to assert itself. He had never given more 
than passing attention to racing affairs and probably 
had scarcely dreamed that therein was the field in 



That his career has been much out of the common, which his phenomenal career was to be developed. He 



and fully worthy of the e.xceptional attention that has 
been given to it, scarcely need be said. In a little more 
than fourteen years he has risen from a comparatively 
humble station in life to a position of unt]uestioned 
prominence and influence in racing circles. During this 
brief period he has become one of those gentlemen con- 
nected with racing in the United States who are known 
throughout the country. This has been a remarkable 
achievement for more reasons than one. The majority 
of men who are identified with racing interests are 
rarely heard of outside of racing circles. Here and there 



was in the habit of visiting the local pool rooms in 
Pittsburg to bet on baseball matches and incidentally 
learned the names of horses running in different parts of 
the country. After a time he turned his attention to 
horses, and displayed from the tlrst a degree of good 
JLidgment that resulted in his winning considerable 
money. In fact, what appeared toothers to be his good 
luck was so marked that some frequenters of the betting 
establishment followed him to such an e.xtent that he 
was unable to obtain fair odds. 
By this time he had attracted the notice of a gentleman 



one appears, who stands out from the ranks of his conversant with racing matters, who persuaded him that 

associates with unusual prominence. Something excep- his opportunities would be much greater at the tiacks, 

tional in the individual is necessary to the attainment of and he accordingly made a trip to Louisville, where he 

this result, and it is for this very reason that the career saw the Kentucky Derby run. Financially this experi- 



and operations of a man like Mr. Smith are justly 
regarded as of special value. 

Mr. Smith is a native of Pennsylvania, having been 
born at Sewickly in the Keystone State, July 13, 1862. 
When he was a mere infant his father died, and as a re- 
sult, he was deprived of many of the advantages 
which most boys enjoy. Early thrown upon his own 
resources and with the full knowledge that he had his 
own way to make in the world, at the age of thirteen, 
he started out to seek employment in Pittsburg, which 
city is about twenty-five miles distant from his native 
place. There he began life, being employed in a large 



ence was a success, and he returned to Pittsburg only 
to leave in a few days for Chicago, where, after a further 
brief and, on the whole, gratifying experience, he con- 
cluded to remain. Thus began a permanent connection 
with the turf, which has since been his vocation. 

The prevalent idea that permanently successful betting 
upon horses is a mere matter of chance has. of course, no 
foundation in fact. If demonstration of its falsity were 
needed it could be supplied by the circumstances con- 
nected with Mr. Smith's career. His theory from the 
outset has been to look back at the previous form dis- 
played by a given animal, and to determine as accurately 



industrial establishment. He was only able to command as possible to what class it belongs. Then, judging its 
two dollars and a half a week when he first began to appearance in the preliminary gallop, he ascertains the 
work, but the meagreness of that pittance did not dis- odds quoted against his selection, and if they are fair he 

bets heavily and without hesitation. He possesses, it i. 



courage him. 



295 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




GEORGE E. SMITH 



296 



THE AMKRICAN TURF 



needless to say, marked rapidity of perception and con- 
fidence in himself, and backs his own judi^ment, so that 
his winnings are both rapid and large to an extent that 
have made him a figure of the utmost prominence in the 
contemporary turf. 

Passing three years in Chicago, during which his 
judgment became matured and his experience with 
horses and racing in general greatly widened, he gained 
more than a local reputation. In fact, the betting men 
of that city became virtually afraid to measure conclu- 
sions with him, some of them going so far as to refuse 
his money when offered on a horse. This, with changes 
in the betting laws affecting the Illinois tracks, induced 
him to come to the East, where from the outset he 
was successful, attracting great attention by one of the 
peculiarities of his method, that of laying large sums 
upon what are termed "long shots," placing heavier 
amounts upon them than on even money favorites. 
In fact, throughout his career he has been the admira- 
tion and envy of the betting fraternity, members of 
which have endeavored vainly to copy the persistence, 
judgment and good fortune with which he pursues 
this branch of the sport. In only one season since his 
debut, that of 1896, has he failed to show a balance to 
the credit side of the account, and in the year just men- 
tioned his losses, some $80,000 m amount, included all , 
the expenses of his racing establishment. 

A few of the many notable examples of Mr. Smith's 
style of betting may be given here. In one race he 
won $78,000 on King Cadmus. On Parvenue in one 
race he won $44,000, and on this occasion would have 
won $150,000 but for the fact that a mistake had been 
made in the entry of Dagonet for the race : the first 
betting being declared off. On all Parvenue's races he 
won $130,000. On Sir Walter, in the Brooklyn Handi- 
cap, he won $36,600, and on Wernberg, $36,000 in 
two races. In a single season it is estimated that he 
has wagered no less than $2,500,000, or at the rate of 
about $100,000 per week, while he has frequently won 
or lost daily sums aggregating over $35,000. 

Betting is, however, but one element in Mr. Smith's 
interests in the running turf. He adheres to eminently 
conservative views in relation to the general conduct of 
racing, agreeing with the authorities who contend that 
it is a sport for rich men. His stable has included some 
horses of high reputation, including Parvenue, King Cad- 
mus, Applause, Sweet Faverdale, Ed Kearney, Cande- 
labra, Wernberg, Belmar, Rubicon, The Winner, Belde- 
mere, Hamilton 11., Howard Maon, Defargilla, Kern and 
others. 

Nearly all of those who have just been mentioned have 
proved faithful and consistent performers and have won 
for their owner many thousands of dollars. It must be 
noted, however, especially as showing how, in spite of 



the utmost care and liberal expenditure uncertainly ex- 
ists in racing, that Defargilla was considerable of a dis- 
appointment to her owner and lost for him $110,000. 
On the other hand he has had many and substantial en- 
couragements in his career as a racing man. Perhaps 
his winning of the Brooklyn Handicap with Howard 
Mann in 1897 gave him as much satisfaction as anything 
that had ever occurred in his career. It had long been 
his ambition to win one of the great events of the Ameri- 
can turf and his pleasure was complete when Howard 
Mann came in four lengths ahead of Lakeshore with 
Handspring, Sir Walter, Ben Eder, Volley and others in 
the field. At the same meeting Howard Mann won for 
him the Parkway Handicap, beating such good ones as 
Roundsman, Brandywine, Arabian, Lehman, Harry Reed 
and Sunny Slope. In 1897 also, Belmar won for him the 
Ocean Handicap, traveling the one mile in i minute, 41 
seconds, beating such good ones as Hastings, Rondo, 
Tom Cromwell and others. 

On the whole his stable has been remarkably success- 
ful and it is an interesting fact that his horses have won 
proportionately more races in which they started than 
those of any other owner on the turf. One thing that 
has been instrumental in bringing about this result is un- 
doubtedly Mr. Smith's generous manner in dealing with 
his stable. In the care of his horses, his expenditures 
are uniformly at a high figure. Few, if any establish- 
ments, of the kind are maintained more generously or 
incur greater expenditures in proportion to the number 
of horses which they contain. He believes in paying 
good salaries to his employees and thus has been able to 
secure and retain the best men in his service. His horses 
are trained by his brother, Mr. William C. Smith. For the 
season of 1898 he has in training the six-year old Belmar, 
the five-year old The Winner, and Ahom, a promising 
two-year old brown colt by Sir Dixon out of Roseville. 
His racing colors are purple with canary cap. 

While success such as Mr. Smith has achieved, natur- 
ally could not fail to arouse envy in some quarters, the 
esteem in which he is held by the turf world at large is 
not the smallest tribute to the genuine worth of his 
character and the modesty with which his prosperity is 
borne. At no period of his career has his integrity been 
questioned, nor has there ever been a breath of scandal 
connected with his relations to the turf. On principle he 
abstains from stimulants and tobacco, and though retir- 
ing in disposition, is noted for his personal kindliness 
and the charity which prompts him to assist others 
where there can be no chance of repayment. He has 
been prudent with his fortune, and besides providing for 
members of his family has invested extensively in real 
estate in Pittsburg, and in other securities. He resides 
quietly in New York, and has taken several trips to 
Europe in search of rest and recreation. 



297 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



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298 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




299 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



After racing with a success that bid fair to place his 
stable in the forefront of our leading owners. Colonel 
Jacob Ruppert, Jr., decided to sell his horses, though to 
the satisfaction of all friends of the sport, he still retains 
a warm interest in it. Colonel Ruppert is one of the 
most widely known and respected citizens of New York. 
Identified with large brewing and other interests, the 
necessity of giving attention to his property and busi- 
ness concerns have been responsible for his I'elinquish- 
ing an active participation in racing. He is a prominent 
figui'e in the social 
world of New York, 
being a member of 
many clubs and so- 
cieties, a supporter of 
charitable institutions 
and a patron of the line 
arts and music. He 
was born in New 
York City, August > 
1SO7. 

The taste of Col- 
onel Ruppert for rac- 
ing was the growth 
of years of experience 
with horses. Own- 
ing many tine animals 
for driving or riding, 
he naturally became 
in time a lover of the 
thoroughbred and of 
the turf, and in 1891 
became active in the 
sport, the formation 
of his celebrated stable 
having commenced in 
the autumn of that 
year. He purchased 
several horses, pay- 
ing high prices and 
selecting a n i m a 1 s 
whose pedigrees gave 
assurances that they 
would develop into 
meritorious perform- 
ers. The breeding 



dams who were included in the stable were Ajax, 
Counter Tenor, Gotham, Manchester, Sport, Chatta- 
nooga, Longdate and The Manxman, all of whom were 
fieciuent winners. Bambeig, Barine, Barytone 11., Brier- 
wood. Dare All, Favara, irvington, Sandnvmph, Mya, 
Nihilist, Pequod, Stockbridge,Tanis,Tappaw and Winde- 
mere were also among the aggregation, though he raced 
but few of them, and all were sold when he decided to 
retire from racing, in 1893. He, however, retained Con- 
cord (a full biother to Tyro) by Longfellow out of Leon- 
ora Morris and East- 
ertide by Lisbon out 
of Easterday. 

The members of 
this string which 
found most favor in 
Colonel Ruppert's 
eves were Counter 
Tenor and Gotham, 
whom he believed to 
be among the fastest 
horses in the world 
and in fact refused an 
offer of §60,000 for 
the pair. He also paid 
§30,000 for St. Do- 
mingo as a yearling, 
but the youngster 
justified neither his 
lineage nor his cost, 
being a practical fail- 
ure. Ajax, however, 
was a speedy animal 
and placed many races 
to his credit. His win- 
nings, including 1896, 
reached a total 01 
$36,000. 

Colonel Ruppert 
during his turf career 
was liberal with his 
employees and popu- 
lar alike with the 
officials and the pub- 
lic. His horses were 
trained by Messrs. 




JACOB RUPPERT, Jr. 



establishments of the country were searched for likely William Huston, John Campbell and William Lakeland, 
recruits, and the owner of the new stable showed no The latter retained charge of Concord and Eastertide after 
narrow spirit in making his choice, but impartially the Colonel's retirement, which was sincerely regretted 



drafted into his string representatives of many diffei'ent 
strains of thoroughbred blood. In a majority of in- 
stances he was successful, many of his young horses 
becoming noted performeis. 

Among the sons and daughters of famous sires and 



as a loss to honorable sport and correct methods. Among 
the turf organizations with which Colonel Ruppert 
is connected are the Coney Island and the Brooklyn 
Jockey Clubs and the Suburban Riding and Driving 
Association. 



300 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



No American horseman of the present dav has more 
reason to be proud of the part he has played in the 
history of the turf than Mr. Matthew Byrnes. Suc- 
cessful as a jockey in his early years, he then became. 
and has since remained, one of the foremost of train- 
ers, and has prepared many of the best animals that 
ever graced the turf with their victories. Mr. Byrnes cocas Stable, and when that was tinally disposed of he 
was born in i8s4 and, coming to America while yet trained such horses as the Dwyer Brothers purchased 
very young, has spent the greater part of his life in the at Mr. Lorillard's sale, in securing Dew Drop and 



with whom he remained as foreman. At the end of 
six months, however, he was induced to take charge 
of the stable in which Mr. I,orillard had such well 
known performers as Parole. Wyoming, Hiwasse, Ar- 
anza, Barrett, Wanda, Dew Drop, Pontiac and Drake 
Carter. During five years he remained with the Ran- 



vicinity of New York. 

The initial step in his 
career on the turf was 
taken when he entered 
the stable of Mr. James 
Bevins, of Long Island, 
where he remained one 
year, engaging then with 
Major Bacon, whom he 
left the following season 
to enter the service of 
Mr. Wyndham Walden, 
the veteran trainer. The 
Hon. August Belmont 
was Mr. Byrnes' next 
employer, with whom 
he remained seven years. 
His career in the saddle 
was soon brought to an 
end, however, as he de- 
veloped in age and in 
weight. He then pur- 
chased for his own ac- 
count several horses, 
among them Venango, 
Nettie B., KingB.,Saun- 
terer, and a number of 
others, which he raced 
through the Eastern and 
Middle States with fair 
success. Subsequently 
he trained the thorough- 
breds of Mr. Lyme Hitch- 
cock, of Boston, among 
them being such useful 
horses as Limestone. 
Quito and Gaiway. Soon afterward he joined Mr. Jacob 
Pincus in charge of Mr. William Astor's horses, and 
then as first assistant trainer to Mr. Pincus. became 
attached to the stable of Mr. Pierre Lorillard. 

When Mr. Lorillard made his famous campaign in 
Europe he took^Mr. Pincus with him. Mr. Byrnes was 
offered the honor of becoming trainer for those of Mr. 
Lorillard's horses that remained on this side of the 
ocean, but he declined in favor of Anthony Taylor, 




MATTHEW BYRNES 



Pontiac, together with 
the services of Mr. 
Byrnes, the Dwyers 
placed their fortunes in 
connection with racing 
upon a firm foundation. 
A year was spent in the 
employ of the Dwyer 
Brothers, and then Mr. 
Byrnes accepted a posi- 
tion with Mr. J. B. Hag- 
gin, with whom he re- 
mained until Mr. Hag- 
gin retired from racing. 
It was for Mr. Haggin 
that he trained some of 
the greatest race horses 
America ever possessed, 
among them being those 
remarkable animals, Sal- 
vator and Firenze. 

Next, Mr. Byrnes was 
attached to the establish- 
ment of Mr. Marcus 
Daly, of the Bitter Root 
Stock Farm. There he 
handled the famous 
horses that iiave been 
identified with Mr. 
Daly's racing colors. 
Several years ago, Mr. 
Byrnes purchased a farm 
at Eatontown, N. J., op- 
posite the Monmouth 
Park track. It is known 
as the Chestnut Hill Farm, 
and its owner, at an expenditure of $so,ooo. has made 
it a complete breeding establishment. 

Mr. Byrnes' career as a trainer has been rounded out 
with all that could be asked for in the shape of success. 
Besides this, his own horses have been prominent on the 
turt, among them having been George Kessler, a son of 
Salvator and Miss Woodford: and Salvado, a son of 
Salvator and Orion. His name will go down to poster- 
ity as one of the greatest trainers of the day. 



301 



Tlllt .\I\11IR1C.\N TLtRF 



Ont of the real old-timers of the American turf is Mr. much as any of their associates to develop and improve 

Green B. Morris. Probably few American turfmen now the sport. 

living have handled a greater number of first class A notable example of Mr. Morris' skill was Star Ruby, 

horses. Mr. Morris was born in Madison, Miss., in This horse he took charge of for Mr. J. B. Haggin, and 

1857. When he was a mere child his father removed to developed him into a great racer. Star Ruby could 

White River. Mo., where he was brought up. At the travel almost any distance. He won the Thornton Stakes 

age of fourteen he left home and engaged in driving a in California in 1896, the time, 7 minutes, 23^ seconds, 



cattle train across the plains to California, and m the 
Golden State he engaged in mining and afterward in 
agricultural pursuits. During the last year of the Civil 
War he started East 
again, buying and sell- 
ing horses and finally 
entered the lacing field 
in Missouri and Te.xas. 

His success was 
considerable from the 
outset, and he was 
soon able to come 
Noith and take pait 
in the meetings in and 
around New York. 
From that time (in he 
h.is raced regulaily 
at all the impoi'tant 
courses in the coim- 
try. Foi' some yeai's 
he was in paitnership 
with Mr. James Pat- 
ton, and that reliable 
horse. Bill Dillon, 
whom he pui'chased 
from Mr. Patton, was 
the liist to bring slic- 
cess to him. After the 
dissolution of that 
partnership he eri- 
gaged in racing inde- 
pendently. 

Some of the most 
famous horses ever 
known to the Ameri- 
can turf have been 
owned and iiin by 
Mr. Morris at some period in their career. Among them 
have been judge Morrow, the winner of the Brooklvn 
Handicap: Sir Dixon, Stratbmeath, Tipstaff, Drake 
Carter. Re.\, (uMd Hug, Duke of Kent, Fcllowplav, 
Knight Templar, and numerous others of equal distinc- 
tion. Although his turf career has never been of a sen- 
sational charactei". there have been many years when he 
has been ranked high up on the list of winning owners. 
He has been conspicuoLislv a representative of a class of 
hard working, practical racing men. who have done as 



being one of the sensational features of that season. 

In recent years the principal horses that Mr. Morris 
has run have been Lobengula, Sallie Clicquot, Sir Dick, 

Sandowne and others. 

With Lobengula, in 

1897, he won many 
good races. At the 
Fort Erie, Ont., Course 
he won a one-mile 
event in 1 minute, 42 J^ 
seconds, and a i^V 
mile in 1 minute, 47^ 
seconds. At Morris 
Park, at the Novem- 
ber meeting, he ran 
1 ';; miles over the 
hill in I minute, ^^ 
seconds, beating Ben 
Eder and othei' lair 
horses. SallieClicquot, 
by Salvator out of the 
Widow Clicquot, was 
also a good winner in 
1897. 

For the season ol 

1898. Mr. Morris has 
had in training Sir 
Dick by Sir Dixon out 
of Fauna; the bay 
colt Fresmarby Frenso 
out of Martine: the 
brown colt Tyrba by 
Tyrant out of Baby: 
the chestnut colt Tyr- 
shena by Tyrant out 
of Shena V an: the 
chestnut colt Isling- 

fem by Islington out of Temascal, and the bay colt 
July Gip by July out of Gipsv. These are all two-year 
olds, except Sir Dick, who is three vears old. During 
his long career, Mr. Moms has I'aised trainei's and 
jockevs. as well as horses. He has been skillful in 
instructing some of the bovs and men who in sub- 
sequent vears have achieved reputation in connection 
with racing. Among them have been Jim Harris. Ed 
Heffner, Bob Tucker. Willie Martin. Cad Dogget and 
manv others. 




GREEN B. MORRIS 



302 



THE AIMKRICAN' TIU^^F 



One III the iiKist popLilar IraiiU'is in Ainciica is Mr. 
Andrew J. Jovner or "Jack" Joyner. as he is known all 
over the country. He has been identified with racini;-. 
and with thoroughbreds, from the time that he was a 
mere lad. He served his apprenticeship for several years 
with Mr. William Wvche, one of the most successful old- 
time trainers, but now lont^- since passed away. In 

1878, he appeared upon the tui'f with the mai'e Annie G., 
and with her he beat the bushes ot the two Carolinas. 
carryint!; off many prizes at the county fairs. For four 
years, beginning with 

1879, he was foreman 
for Mr. W. P. Burch. In 
the stable of that tLiif- 
man were such good 
performers as Governor 
Hampton, Colonel 
Sprague, Helen Wallace, 
Decoy Duck, Mittie B., 
Burch and others. The 
success of these horses 
was in the largest meas- 
ure due to Ml'. Joyner's 
skill in handling them. 
After leaving Mr. Burch, 
he was engaged in train- 
ing for Davis & Hail un- 
til i88q. The horses 
th.it were undei' his 
charge were invariably 
brought to the post in 
the pink of condition, 
and a generous share ot 
the good things of the 
race meetings fell to 
them. When Messrs. Da- 
vis & Hall retired, Mr. 
Joyner made a venture on 
his own account. He 
bought several good 
horses, among them tiiat 
excellent winner (Chesa- 
peake, and his colors 
flashed to the hont in 
many a close finish. 
Subsequently, he opened 
a public training stable, where he handled his own horses 
and also several for Messrs. August Belmont and J. E. 
McDonald. His success was of such a deciiled charac- 
ter that Mr. Belmont signed a contract with him In train 
tor the Belmont Stable, and he remained there until the 
close of the season of iSqs. During the last vearof his con- 
nection with Mr. Belmont, the horses trained bv him were 
returned winners on over fortv different occasions. 




ANDREW J. JOYNER 



Perhaps nothing has, in his long career, given Mr. 
Joyner more satisfaction than his success with Oritlamme. 
Mr. James G. Rowe had given Oriflamme to Mr. T. B. 
Davis for stud purposes, it being supposed that the 
horse was broken down. When Mr. Joyner started 
South with him he was very lame, but when he landed 
at Washington, strange to say, he was apparently 
sound, and Mr. Davis was persuaded by Mr. Joyner to 
have him trained for another year. The plan was most 
successful, as the turf world well knows, for after Mr. 

Joyner had brought Ori- 
flamme into condition he 
beat all the best horses 
he met. including Fii- 
enze in the Fordham 
Handicap, and he ran 
unplaced only once in 
seventeen starts. 

Recently. Mr. Jovner 
has had in his stable 
the hoises of Messrs. 
David Gideon. W. A. 
(".hauler and Oliver H. P. 
Belmont. The Gideon 
horses that he has 
brought to m liable 
victories are Leedsville 
by Pontiac out of The 
Sc]uaw; Philip bv im- 
ported Rayon 1) Or out 
of Carrie Phillips: Froh- 
man by Himyar out of 
Jewel Ban : Wasteful by 
Knight of Fllerslie out of 
Squander: Katisha by 
imported Darebin out of 
Yum Yum; Touraine by 
Himvar out of Lady Ag- 
nes: and Jack Point by 
Sir Di.xon out ot Merry 
Maiden. 

The horses which Mr. 
Jovner owns are Her- 
mann the Great bv Stiat- 
ford out of (3ovee; Au- 
tumn by Uncas out of 
Meadowvale: Mr. Clav by imported Darebin out of Miss 
Clay: Menu bv imported Darebin out of Cuisine: Sagasta 
by Hayden Hdwards; Ninety Onts by imported Sir 
Modred: Mail Bag bv Kinglike and King's Pride by 
Prestonpaiis. fhe name of Joyner has always been 
inseparably connected with the best interests of his 
employers. His talent and devotion to the turf give him 
a fi.xed place among .America's great trainers. 



303 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Prominent nmong the trainers of American tiiorougii- Finally, however, like many other jockeys, he began to 
breds is Mr. Frank McCabe, many years identified with take on flesh beyond the possibility of reducing to light 



the red, blue sash colors, of Dwyer Bros.' Stable. Mr. 
McCabe was born at Paterson, N. J., March is, 1839, and 
as a boy entered the stable of Col. McDaniel at Secaucus, 
N. J., where he was employed e.xei'cising horses be- 
longing to that gentleman, with whom he remained 



weight and was forced to abandon the saddle. 

Naturally the step from being a jockey to becoming a 
trainer was easy to take, and for years past Mr. McCabe 
has given his entire attention to this branch of horse rac- 
ing. During his career as trainer he has been pre- 



eight years. Then he engaged with a Canadian owner, eminently successful in bringing to the post those noted 
Mr. Valentine, with whom he had the usual preliminary turf wonders whose names, so brilliantly and imperish- 



training, and accquired 
a firm understanding 
of all details connected 
with the management 
and prep a ration of 
horses for the track. 

During his stay with 
Mr. Valentine he ac- 
quired some means and 
after five years of serv- 
ice he branched out 
as an owner and train- 
er, buying several 
horses, among them 
being Ascot and Flavia. 
After two or three 
years' ownership he 
disposed of his stable 
and then entered upon 
an engagement which 
resulted in making him 
foremost as a trainer of 
thoroughbreds. 

At the time Mr. James 
G. Rowe was in charge 
of Dwyer Bros. ' horses, 
McCabe was employed 
to assist him, which 
position he letained un- 
til Mr. Rowe severed 
his connection with the 
stable; then he was put 
in sole charge of the 
entire string. 

Previous to his en- 
gagement with the 
Dwyer Bros., McCabe 
had ridden some of America's famous thoroughbreds. 
Among others was Joe Daniels, winner of the sixth 
Belmont, and a horse that had shown as high form as any 
two-year old of his day. Stock wood, reared in Kentucky. 
was another of McCabe's mounts. He was owned by 
Mr. Daniel Swigert and was at one time considered an 




FRANK McCABE 



ably connected with 
the Dwyer Brothers, 
will be readily and 
agreeably recalled. 
Many of them will fig- 
ure most conspicuously 
in the history of Amer- 
ica's greatest thorough- 
breds of this or of any 
other period and it has 
been in no small meas- 
ure due to Mr. Mc- 
Cabe's skill that they 
were able to win some 
of the greatest prizes 
known to the contem- 
poraneous turf 

When the Dwyer 
Brothers dissolved 
partnership in 1890, 
Mr. McCabe was en- 
gaged for a short time 
in handling the horses 
of Mr. Frederick Geb- 
hard. But the value 
of his services had not 
been forgotten by his 
foi'mer employers, and 
presently he was called 
again to take charge of 
Mr. Philip J. Dwyer's 
horses. With Mr. 
Dwyer he has since re- 
mained and has now 
full charge of that gen- 
tleman's string. 

As a trainer Mr. Mc- 
Cabe stands among the very best, being in a class that 
ranks second to none other in the profession. Of un- 
assuming manners, and true to every trust that may be 
imposed upon him, he has won the admiration of all 
genuine sportsmen, and to him is due no small part 
of the success attained by the Messrs. Dwyer. His 



excellent horse. Hubbard, Sue Rider, Ocleope, and methods are sound, and his knowledge of horseflesh and 
many others were also piloted in their races by McCabe. its capabilities is probably unsurpassed in his profession. 

304 




THE AMERICAN TUKF 



Few stables in the history of the Ameiican turf have 
been more widely chronicled than that of the Dwver 
Brothers. Foilunate purchases from the sale of the 
Belmont stable established the Dwyer Brothers in racing 
aflfiiirsand they immediately jumped into a position of 
powers of the first magnitude in the racing world. Mr. 
Philip J. Dwyer, who has long been President of the 
Brooklyn Jockey Club, has become widely known in 
turf circles, not only in the United States, but even in 
Europe. Born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 184^, he has 
always made his home in the City of Churches, with 



their stable such notable thoroughbreds as Bramble, 
Hindoo, Miss Woodford, George Kinney, Longstreet, 
Luke Blackburn, Tremont, Hanover, Dewdrop, Runny- 
mede, Poiitiac and Kingston. The list embraces names 
that are the most distinguished in the later day history 
of the American tuif. 

Until i8qo, the Dwyer Brothers continued together, 
but in that year Mr. Philip J. Dwyer set out independ- 
ently and started a stable of his own. His first personal 
possessions included Eon, Sir John, Declare, Kennell, 
Reclare, Long Beach, Madrid, Patrician and Passover. 




;-^*s» 



HANDSPRING 



the exception of two years that he passed in (Califor- 
nia when he was a young man. 

Mr. Dwver's connection with racing dates from 1875, 
when, with his brother, Mr. Michael F. Dwyer, he first 
displayed his stable colors, red with blue sash. The pai» 



Afterward he purchased that wonderful colt. Handspring, 
son of Hanover and My Favorite, who carried the Dwyer 
colors to success in some of the most brilliant turf 
events of his two and three-year old career. 

Mr. Dwyer's string for i8c)8 included Rifle, Passover, 



ticular event of the debut of the Dwyer Brothers was the Handpress, Handball. Miss Miriam. Hop Scotch, Sharp- 
appearance of that wonderful three-year old Rhadaman- less. Overboard and several others, the larger number of 
thus, which they had purchased from Mr. Belmont. The the stable being promising two-year olds. There is no 
triumphs of Rhadamanthus inspired the Messrs. Dwyer more upright and popular sportsman in the United States 
with renewed enthusiasm for the turf and they at once than Mr. Dwyer, and he is properly credited with having 
began to increase the number of their horses, adding to done much to sustain honorable racing methods. 

305 



TJIE AMERICAN TURF 



In .ill vv.ilks of life it has \onix '""i^'i-'n lemMrkcd thai to a bad points about a horse, and how to manage him to the 

verv laige c-xtent the present is an era of young men. best advantage. When he was only fourteen years of 

Moie than ever betore in the history ol the world have age he made his liist appearance on the track through 

the yoLing men come forward to take the lead in affairs the tiotting hoi'se. On this occasion he drove a bay 

of business, in public administration and in successful horse, (Aipid, which his father had presented to him as 

professional activitv. The theory that a man must needs a road horse. The race was at the Chagrin Falls Ohio 

be old and gray haired before he can e.xpect to achieve Course, and he won the event to the great surprise of the 

success has long ago been relegated to the lumber room, older horsemen, who scarcely expected to see such skill 

where we stow away exploded ideas that are no longer in horsemanship in a mere boy. 

uselul. Young men come to the front and by theii' The father of Mr. Parker was a well-known and promi- 

energy, activity, quick grasp of the situation, and broad neiit business man of New York City, where he has been 



comprehension of possi- 
bilities, achieve success 
that is not onlv biilliant, 
but is as equally well de- 
served. 

In the woild that devotes 
itself to thoroughbred rac- 
ing, there have been many 
striking illustrations of the 
successful young man. An 
admirable representative of 
this class is Mr. Frank L. 
Parker. Although, as com- 
pared with some others in 
the r.niks. he has seen few 
years, and is in fact one of 
the vei'v youngest of own- 
eis of thoroughbreds in 
the United States, he h:fs 
achieved both success and 
repLitation. There is abund- 
ant reason foi' the success 
that has distinguished him, 
and the result in his case is 
another exemplification of 
the value of early training 
and of constant association 
from boyhood days with 
those interests to which a 
man may devote his life- 
time. 

Mr. Parkei" was born m 
(Chicago May lo. iSy^. 
His experience with horses 

began early and was of the most pr.icticil char- 
acter from the outset. His grandf.ither. Mr. Tabor 
Warren, was the proprietor of a large stock farm 
located near Cleveland, O. Mr. Parker enjoyed the 
adv,mtages afforded by this stock farm, even when he 
was no more than a school-boy. His education in rid- 
ing and driving began almost as soon as he was able to 
walk. His aptitude early displayed itself, and he also 
had an almost intuitive knowledge of both the good and 




FRANK L. PARKER 



located for more than 
twenty years. The son 
was educated in New York 
and also in Ohio, and after 
he had attained to man- 
hood determined to de- 
vote himself in earnest to 
a racing career. In asso- 
ciation with his brother, 
the late Mr. Charles W. 
Parker, he made a substan- 
tial beginning at the well- 
known stock farm, Alton- 
wood Park. There they 
had their own track and 
training stable, and devoted 
their personal attention to 
all the details of managing 
the establishment. Their 
father was associated with 
them, and together they 
maintained a stud farm of 
large size, keeping from so 
to I =;o horses all the time, 
together with expensive 
herds of fine bred cattle 
and a kennel of the best 
imported breeds of dogs. 

In 1S90, and the two 
years immediately tbllow- 
ing, they made many ac- 
tiuisitions to their stable, 
becoming the owners of 
Frank L., Maid of Alton- 
wood, Vandyke. Merry Duke. Mohican. Runaway 
and others. Maid of Altonwood was by Ben U'Or 
out of Lady Glasgow, V'.mdyke by Vanderbilt out 
of Miss Dawson, Merrv Duke by Duke of Montrose 
out of Fun, and Mohican by Iroc^uois out of Bertha 
by imported Glenelg. One notable member of Mr. 
Parker's string was Lake Shore, who ran successfully 
for several years. He \A'as a handsome chestnut horse 
by Farandole out of Guayaquil and was fixiled in 



io6 



THE AAll'.kU AX 11 K I 



iSg:. DLiring his cnrcLT on the turf he delected some 
of the best horses in training, inckidinir Sir Waiter, 
Sister Mary, Lamplii^hter, Volley, Cromwell, Hanvvell 
and numerous others. In 189,, at Morris i'ark, he won 
a high weight handicap over the Withers mile in i min- 
ute, 42; J seconds. In iSgb. he won a sweepstakes at 
Sheepshead Bay, i mile, in 1 minute. 45 seconds, beat- 
ing Ueerslayer and Carib. In 1897. at the Fort Hrie, Ont., 
Course, he won a race at i ,V miles in 1 minute, 46J2 
seconds. In 1897 he finished second in the Brooklyn 
Handicap and was. unfortunately, cut down in the Subur- 
ban. He died at Sheepshead Bay in May, 1898. 

In December. 189=^. Mr. Charles W. Parker died and 



His extreme modesty of character and thoroLighgoing 
sportsmanship have made IViends for him in all sections 
"f the turf woild. He is known to horsemen generally 
throughout the country, and, ruilike many young men 
who have attained success in a field of operation that 
presents so many difficulties and pitfalls, has success- 
fully maintained a sterling reputation. 

The racing colors of Mr. Parker's stable are orange 
with black sleeves and cap. Besides the horses already 
mentioned his string has included many other good 
ones, among them Ameer and Ross O. Ameer, who 
is now seven years old. is a chestnut horse by imported 
Kingston out of Jeweli'v. He has run many v\-inning 




LAKE SHORE 



FRANK L. PARKER 



his biothei' took full chaige of the stable. It is scarcely 
necessary to sav that Mr. Paiker has secured a h.xed 
place among the most prominent owners of the period. 
His abundant financial means have enabled him to 
gratify his tastes to the ilillest extent and he has spared 
neither time nor e.xpense in maintaining his stable 
always in the best of condition. His thorough and 
sound knowledge of all the infmite details connected 
with the cai'e and preparation of horses tor the I'ace 
track gives him a decided advantage which is undoubt- 
edly one of the many contiibuting causes to his success. 



laces. deleating such good ones as Truiculo. Pitlall, 
Phoebus, Halton and others. RossO. is a bay gelding by 
imported Rossington out of Bourne O. His best achieve- 
ment in 1897 was in wuining a si.x furlongs race at Sara- 
toga in I minute. 17 seconds, ovei' a very heavy track, de- 
feating Tripping, Orion and others. With good material 
at his command and with the experience gained during 
his career, Mr. Parker should, in the natural order of 
things, gain further and substantial fame. Thatheshould 
take a place of commanding importance among the horse 
owners of the country may well be predicted of him. 



307 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Numbered among the most active men of Canada in 
business and in public life, Mr. Joseph E. Seagram has 
also been pre-eminently distinguished in connection 
with the turf in the Dominion and in the United States. 
He has long been interested in public affairs in Canada, 
where he is a man of influence in politics, being a mem- 
ber of {Parliament. He was born in Ontario, April is, 
1841, and was an owner of horses when but a mere boy. 
His active turf careei', however, did not commence until 
later in life. As soon as he attained to manhood he 
engaged in business 
pursuits, being a mil- 
ler and distiller on a 
large scale. This oc- 
cupation, for a time, 
monopolized all his 
energies, so that he 
was unable to give 
any consideration to 
racing, which had, 
howevei', already en- 
listed, to some extent, 
his services. 

Close attention to 
business soon reaped 
its reward in hand- 
some financial re- 
turns, so that at last 
he had both the time 
and the means to in- 
dulge again in the 
pleasures of the turf 
Since his return to 
racing in 1887, he 
has owned and raced 
many of the distin- 
guished thorough- 
breds that have been 
known on the Cana- 
dian tracks, while his 
horses have also per- 
formed in the most 
creditable m a n n e r 
upon many of the 
leading courses in the 
United States. Prom- 
inent in his stable have been such champions as Victor- 
ious, Martyrdom, Saragossa, O'Donohue, Havoc, Half- 
ling, Martello, Joe Miller, Bonniefield, Millbrook, Trage- 
dian and Fernandine, all of whom have been great 
performers. 

One particular distinction Mr. Seagram has, in the fact 
that he has accomplished what no other turfman has 
succeeded in doing, and that is winning a Blue Ribbon 




event for eight years in succession. The Qiieen's Plate 
is the prize which he has thus carried off season after 
season. This he won the first year with Victorious; the 
second year with O'Uonohue; the third year with Mar- 
tello; the fourth year with Joe Miller; the fifth year with 
Bonniefield; the sixth year with Millbrook; the seventh 
year with Fernandine; and the eighth year with Bon Ino. 
This race, which is I'un at Toronto, is \% miles distance. 
Victorious, who won in i8qi, was a son of Terror, 
and covered the course in 2 minutes. 14'.' seconds, 

making the record 
time for the event. 
Both O'Donohue and 
Martello, who won in 
1892 and 1893 re- 
spectively, were by 
Cromaboo, and Mar- 
tello reduced the time 
to 2 minutes, 14 sec- 
onds. The winners in 
the three successive 
years. 1894, i8qs and 
1896, were all by 
Springfield. Fernan- 
dine, who won in 1897, 
was by Fernandez, 
and reduced the rec- 
oid for the event to 
2 minutes, 13 sec- 
onds. Bon Ino, who 
won in 1898, is a 
handsome four-year 
old brown mare by 
Marauder out of Bon- 
nie Ino. Delmoor, 
another representa- 
tive of the Seagram 
Stable, ran second to 
Bon Ino. 

Mr. Seagram main- 
tains an extensive 
breeding establish- 
ment in Canada, his 
firm being by far the 
most important of its 
kind in that section. 
At the head of his stud are the stallions Morpheus, Sara- 
gossa. Marauder and imported Springfield. The mares 
whom he keeps for service number some forty or more, 
most of whom are imported, while all are of the choicest 
thoroughbred blood. He has over sixty horses in training, 
some of whom are raced through the Canadian circuit, 
while others try their fortunes upon the leading courses 
in the United States. Mr. Seagram has long been a 



CHARLES BOYLE 



308 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



faniiliar tiiiine upon the Aiiiciican tracks, wlici'c some 
of the laige stakes have been placed to liis credit, and 
he is known throuijhout the country as a thorough 
sportsman of the lirst class. His stable is now in 
charge of Mr. Charles Boyle, who is well known, 
both in Canada and the States, as one of the fore- 
most trainers ot this generation. Mr. Seagram is 
foi'tunate in having a trainer of Mr. Boyle's ability and 
integrity in chai'ge of his stable. Several of the old 
campaigners, who have cai'ried Mi'. Seagram's colors, 
are still in training. Among these are Stonemason by 
Stonehenge out of Mary Buckley: Morpheus by Wenlock 



Belle. K. C. B., Defiance, Flag of Truce and Weller; King's 
Ransom by Kinglike; Satirist by Juvenal; Galahad by Sir 
Modred: Sugden by St. Leonards; Mischief Maker by 
Meddler; two Morpheus fillies. Buffoonery and Curfew 
Belle; two Orinoco fillies, Pledge and Salamanca; the 
chestnut gelding Cocoanut by Orinoco; three Othmar 
fillies, Terralta, Ottoman and Bonnet Box; Floridian by 
Tristan; and Procession by Order. 

The remarkable strength of Mr. Seagram's Stable in 
recent years may be best understood, perhaps, by a brief 
reference to some of his most notable winnings. Season 
after season he has carried off most of the great prizes at 








J. E. SEAGRAM 



SARAGOSSA 



out ot Golden Dream: Joe Miller by Springfield out ot the Toronto meeting, many of them several times. Thus 
Miiley; Havoc by Himyar out of Elletta: Connoisseur by the Qiieen's Plate, the Ontario Plate, the Woodstock 
Sir Modred out of Dixianne; Halfiing by Mache.ith out of Plate, the Norway Purse, the Toronto Cup, the Dominion 
Moiety: Patrol bv King Gallop out of Patience; Trage- Plate, the Walker Cup and other stakes and purses not 
dian by Egmont out of "Veva; Bon Ino by Marauder of secondary importance, have fallen to him. The sue- 
out of Bonnie Ino, and Dandelion by Dandy Dinmont cesses that his stable has achieved en the Toronto course 
out of Shamrock. The two-year olds that Mr. Seagram are but samples drawn from the long list of victories that 



has in training number some forty or more. They are 
a goodly lot of the best parentage. Among them aie 
Sir Casimir bv Exile; two Faverdale colts, Airdale and 
Fabulous Fortune: five Knight of Ellerslie colts. Knight 



have been credited to him elsewhere, in Canada and in 
the United States. He has shown himself to be a gentle- 
man of true sporting instincts and an honor to the turf, as 
he is one of its most valued supporters. 



309 



THE AMERICAN TURE 




TNI-: AMI-.kU-W TIIRI.- 



Another illListration of llu- succcssfal jockev who has 
in turn become a trainer of excellent reputation and 
thence has grown into the full stature of an owner, Mr. 
Robert V. Boyle has had an interesting caieer. So 
frequently in any consideration of the active ownei's and 
trainers of the present day is it necessaiy to point out 
how they have advanced fVom small beginnings that theii' 
histoiy may from one point of view be considei'ed some- 
what monotonous. The student of the period, however, 
naturally tlnds in this very monotony one of the most 
engaging featuies of modeiii turf development, for it pre- 
sents a vitally instructive lesson, especially as showing 
how industry and merit reap their full rewards in this 
puisuit. 

Mr. Boyle must be placed in the front rank of those 
who have attained to gratifying and well earned success 
Irom the humblest begin- 
ning. His experience has 
extended over a period of 
about fifteen years and has 
been of a varied and im- 
portant character. It was 
almost inevitable from the 
circumstances of his birth 
that he should become a 
racing man. for he was 
boin near Sheepshead Bay, 
!„ I., September 8, 1871. 
It would have been con- 
trary to the logical order of 
things if he had devoted 
himself to anv other pLir- 
suit than that which has 
b e e n so conspicuously 
identified with Sheepshead 
Bay. His definite career in 
connection with the turf 
began when he was only 
twelve years of age. At 
that time he became an exercise boy m the stable ot the 
Messrs. Dwyer Brothers. There he served an apprentice- 
ship, under that capable trainer, Mr. James G. Rowe. 
and it would not be easy to name a better school for a 
youngster than the Dwyer Stable with Mr. Rowe as 
master. 

After remaining with the Dwyeis for one season he 
rode for several owners in 1884. and was successful in 
winning some good races. Among those for whom he 
then rode most frequently was Mr. William Stoops. One 
of the best mounts that he had at this time was Tornado 
by imported Glenlion out of Estella, whom he rode to 
several victories. In 1888, he became jockey for Mr. 
James Davis, who was widely and affectionately known 
as "Old Hickory." During the year that he was con- 





ROBERT V. BOYLE 



nected with the stable of Mr. Davis he had many good 
mounts, among them being Old Hickory, Bob May and 
Battledore and his many victories materially increased his 
already strong reputation. In 1889, he was engaged to 
ride for Mr. Sam Love and on St. John and St. Luke, the 
principal horses of that turfman's string, he was able in 
place several excellent races to his credit. 

When increasing weight made it no longer possible 
for Boyle to continue in the saddle, he turned his at- 
tention to the profession of training, that ultimate refuge 
of all jockeys. He still maintained his connection with 
Mr. Love, however, and soon demonstrated his skill in 
his new employment by bringing some very good racers 
to the front. His first attempt as a trainer was particu- 
larly notable, for he had the handling of Ballarat. who 
under his care won ten races. He also trained St. John, 

St. Luke and Lewinsky. In 
1893, he became trainer for 
Mr. J. Reiser, having in his 
charge Pay-or-Play, West 
r^ark. Innovation, King 
Leo, Sorrento, Irish Lass 
and other good ones. With 
this string he won some- 
thing like $20,000 for his 
employer. 

Becoming an o w n e r 
himself in i.Sq4, Mr. Boyle 
had a stable in which were 
Heads or Tails and Mamie 
R. Both these hoises he 
raced for a year, meeting 
with very good luck. In 
the following y e a r he 
owned and trained Sep- 
tuor, a brown colt by Ox- 
lip out of imported Steph- 
anette. Although classed 
as a candidate for selling 
races, Septuor, under Mr. Boyle's skilful handling, de- 
veloped remarkably good powers. Again and again he 
defeated many of the most notable stake horses on the 
contemporaneous tLirf. His maiden race as a two-year 
old was at Pimlico in 189^, and during that season he 
won a single iMce out ol' eight starts and secured a place 
thiee times. In his three-year old form he started in 
thiity-one races, of which he won eleven and was placed 
in eleven. Among the high-class performers that he de- 
feated were Ben Eder, Hazlet, Aurelian. Premier, Bona- 
parte, Patrol and Charade, the list showing that his 
victories have come from his merit and his owner's 
skilful handling and not iVom chance. Mr. Boyle's 
success with Septuor led him to increase his stable by 
adding May Fi'ances. Captain Nash and others. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



im 



Probablv no trainer in the country enjoys greater or 
more deserved popularity than Mr. William Lakeland. 
Nor, if results be the test, is there any man in racing 
circles of the present era whose professional knowledge, 
whether applied on his own behalf as an owner, or in 
connection with the great establishments of our modern 
turf magnates, has been more practical and successful. 
Mr. Lakeland has virtually given his whole life to the 
business, and has climbed the ladder of success by his 
own intelligence and efforts. He is to-day a represen- 
tative of what perseverance and integrity can accom- 
plish. Born in Manchester, England, in 18,3, he came to 
this country a lad of eleven. He was deprived of earlv 
educational advantages, and 
his start in life was in the 
unpromising capacity of 
helper in a cotton mill at 
Paterson, N. J., in which 
city his boyhood was 
passed. 

It was in the year 1869 
that his connection with 
racing began, the Babcock 
Stable affording him the 
first opportunities in this 
connection, in this stable 
were several prominent 
thoroughbreds, such as 
Helen Bold. General Abe 
Buford's horse. Enquirer, 
and Susan M.. dam of 
Thora. The first winter 
that Lakeland passed with 
Mr. Babcock was spent in 
New Orleans, in the spring 
of 1870, when the stable 
moved North, its training 
was placed in the hands 
of Mr. Patterson, and at the 
initial meeting at Long 
Branch, Lakeland received 
his first mount. 

As a jockey. Lakeland rode and won some very sen- 
sational races. Among the number may be mentioned 
Wildidle's performance in California, where he beat 
Grinstead. subsequently a notable sire. Foster was an- 
other of his mounts, riding whom in California he won 
$30,000 for the owner, defeating Rutherford and other 
speedy animals. Mr. Lakeland's connection with the 
Babcock Stable was severed in 1882, but he had become 
an owner of racers on his own account as early as 1876. 
His first purchase was General Harney, the winner or 
the two-mile heat and the four-mile heat races at the 
Centennial meeting at New Orleans in 1876. .Altogether 



during his career as an owner, Mr. Lakeland has laid out 
more than $200,000 for race horses, and, with the ex- 
ception of two seasons, during which he trained for Mr. 
James R. Keene, he has always trained and run his own 
horses. 

During nearly thirty years Mr. Lakeland has been 
prominently before the racing public. To particularize 
in connection with his record for that period is to recall 
the names of many of the stars of the turf among whom 
Domino holds the leading position. Indeed, Mr. Lake- 
land himself says that that horse was the greatest he 
ever trained out of the entire number of fast animals and 
large stake winners that have owed their success to his 

skill. The list is a long 
one, and it includes such 
horses of note as Exile. 
Tea Tray, Kimball. Tattler, 
Babcock, General Harney, 
^.. Keene Richard, Jr., Ern- 

^ISfe est. Peg Woffington, Buck- 

^B tie (winner of the Chicago 

^» Derby), Emma C, Victory, 

^^ Typhoon and Little Reb. 

f / The latter was a little horse 

that won three races in one 
^ day and five races in three 

Tfv days. At the sale of Mr. 

J. J. McCatferty's horses in 
the autumn of 1896, Mr. 
Lakeland acquired Judge 
Hancock, Gold Crest and 
Winged Foot. 

For the season of 1898, 
Mr. Lakeland is handling 
the Eastern horses of Mr. 
Marcus Daly's stable, and 
has been successful in 
bringing several of them to 
the front as winners in the 
early meetings of ihe year. 
His own horses are nearly 
a dozen in number. The 
tried ones are Decide, Winged Foot, Joe Anderson. 
George Boyd, imd Squire Abingdon. His two-year olds 
are Florence Breckenridge and Plumage by Goldfinch, 
Chorus Bov bv Chorister. Young Exile by Exile, and 
Ethel Green by Tea Tray. 

Mr. Lakeland enjoys a popularity as wide as it is fully 
deserved. He is one of the practical men of the turf 
and has won throughout his professional life the confi- 
dence and respect of turf officials, owners and public 
as well. Added to profound knowledge of horses, their 
nature and capabilities, he possesses an acquaintance 
with and respect for the best traditions of racing. 




WILLIAM LAKELAND 



THE AMF.RICAN TURF 



Makiiiii' a leputation first as an exceptionally line 
jockey, principally in hurdle races and steeplechasing. 
Ml'. James H. McCormick became a trainer of note and 
has also earned fame as an owner. He was born at 
Belleville, N. J., August 2^. iSsi. and began his appren- 
ticeship to the turf in 1869, when Jerome Park, Saratoga 
and Secaucus, N. J., had the only meetings in the East. 
His first employers were Messrs. Thomas Puryear and 
Louis Stuart. As James Stuart did the riding for the 
stable, McCormick had little chance for advancement, 
though he did some 
clever flat riding for 
Mr. Hugh McGaffney. 

His next employer 
was Mr. A. D. Brown, 
of Maryland, whose 
trainer was J o h n 
J. Hyland, and the 
cross-country riding 
for the establishment 
was entrusted to Mc- 
Cormick and Hyland. 
On 1 e a V i n g Mr. 
Brown he went to the 
famous stable of 
Dwyer Brothers and 
continued to ride over 
the jumps and act as 
assistant trainer to Mr. 
James Rowe. He had, 
among other mounts, 
Derby and Kinney, 
but in June, 1879, 
met with a bad fall at 
the Coney Island 
Jockey Club meet at 
Prospect Park, now 
the Brooklyn Track. 

This e n d e d his 
career as jockey and. 
on recovering, he ac- 
cepted a position to 

train for Mr. W. A. 

c ,, ,- JAMES H. Mccormick 

hngerman, the loun- 

der of the Brighton Beach Racing Association. Baton 
Rouge, Miss Malloy and Swanona were among the 
horses he trained in this stable. His next move was to 
open a public training stable, in which venture he was 
successful, having the horses of such men as Mr. August 
Belmont, Sr., Mr. William L. Scott, of Erie, and Mr. 
A. F. Walcott. By this time he had acquired and ran 
several useful race horses of his own, including Auto- 
crat, Firefly, Early Blossom. Sparling and Marguerite. 
Early Blossom won the first two-vear old stake of her 




year, and took her name from the title given to it. She 
was a decidedly clever filly. Out of 89 starts she took 
some part of the stakes 71 times. Firefly also won a 
great many selling races, while Sparling was twenty 
times a winner. All the others were reliable per- 
formers. 

Among the horses of note which Mr. McCormick 
trained was Mr. Thomas Hanley's Glenullen, which was 
the first horse to make a mile record as good as 1.41^^ 
over the Sheepshead Bay Course. He also trained 

Avalon, a famous 
sprinter. For Mr. John 
Mullins he trained 
Badge, who was sec- 
ond to Castaway II. 
in the Brooklyn Han- 
dicap. He also had 
the care of Mr. H. O. 
Barnard's horses, and 
of several for the once 
famous plunger, Mr. 
F. T. Walton, includ- 
ing Deceiver, Wagner, 
Hopeful and Three 
Cheers. The I a s t- 
named horse won for 
Mr. Walton over 
$50,000, of which he 
presented Mr. Mc- 
Cormick with ,$^,000. 
For a short time 
Mr. McCormick en- 
gaged in winter rac- 
ing, but later on sold 
his stable for$3=i, 000, 
and became trainer 
for Mr. G. Walbaum, 
with whom he re- 
mained for two years, 
until that well-known 
turf man sold out his 
stable. During this 
time Mr McCormick 
had the handling of 
that notably brilliant performer. Lamplighter. 

The next engagement into which Mr. McCormick en- 
tered was with Messrs. Burns & Waterhouse. These 
gentlemen have some forty horses in training, and are 
also proprietors of a ranch purchased from Mr. Theo. 
Winters and once noted as the home of Norfolk. The 
members of the firm have large interests in California 
and Mexico. Not only is Mr. McCormick a master of 
the art of training, but he has accumulated a handsome 
fortune at his profession. 



5'3 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



lnst;inces ;iie not lackint^ in connection witii tiiu scientious metJTods of the yount; trainer. The PLiisiler 

history of the turl', both past and present, which prove Stable at once took a glorious place in contemporary turf 

that the professional employments connected with it history, and Tenny's victories, including the Brooklyn 

afford a field for the exercise of natural skill and talent Handicap and the Ocean Stakes, i8qi, established Mr. 

of a superior order, and that the possession of such quali- Karrick's position as one of the foremost representatives 

ties opens the way to an honorable success by no means of his profession, 
inferior to that which could be attained in any other Mr. Karrick continued with Mr. 

pursuit. The career of Mr. William H. Karrick is but in i8qs invested his capita 

an illustration of this idea, while his success emphasi/^es stable of his own at Morris Park. 



the fact that unswerving integrity and unceasing industry 
lead to the highest rewards the racing world can bestow. 
Born at Covington, Ken- 
tucky, in 1867. Mr. Kar- 
rick commenced early in 
life to fill humble posi- 
tions in various racing 
stables. His first en- 
gagement was in 1882, 
when he was with Mr. 
Hanigan at Latonia. 

He remained with this 
establishment for some 
four or five years, in the 
last two of which he 
filled the position of fore- 
man. He then went with 
Mr. J. W. Rogers, exer- 
cising horses, and, in 
1888, entered the stable 
of Colonel David T. Pul- 
sifer in the same capac- 
ity. The string with 
which he thus became 
connected included such 
performers as Governor 
Sheehan, Drum Major, 
Will Elliott and others, 
bLit the gem of the ag- 
gregation was the mar- 
velous swayback Tenny. 
whom his admirers still 
consider one of the best 
horses that ever appeared 
on the American turf. 




Pulsifer loi' some time, 
in a public training 
The Pulsifer string 
continued imder his charge, and also the horses of the 
Kensico Stable, including among them Divide. Takan- 

nassee, Successful, 
Azure, Full Speed and 
Ti'ayline, as well as a 
number of two-year olds 
for Colonel Pulsifer. Mi'. 
Karrick also has had a few 
select animals, of which 
Dr. Jim, whom he sold to 
W.C. Daly, and Miss 
Tenny by Tenny out of 
Fair Vision, may be 
specially mentioned. 
it was peculiarly 
fitting that the first of 
the swayback's get to 
distinguish themselves 
should be an inmate of 
his trainer's stable. In 
Miss Tennv, both Col- 
onel Pulsifer and Mr. 
Karrick have a worth\- 
representative o f h e r 
sire. Another a n i m a 1 
that Mr. Karrick added 
to his string in 1897 was 
the bay filly Juda by 
Britannic out of Judy. 

For the season of 1898 
Mr. Karrick has had in 
training Mr. Arthur 
White'sTitmouse. Geisha 
and Naviculine; Messis. 
KARRICK Wattson & Co.'s Bom- 

bast and Flea: Mr. Thomas L. Reynolds' Zeila and 
Crown: Mr. A. F. Walcott's Duxbury and Colonel D. T. 



WILLIAM H 

Mr. Karrick's opportunity came when Donovan, who 

trained for Colonel Pulsifer, was obliged to give up his - - , 

charge. The owner of the stable recognizing the value Pulsifers Tenraine by Tenny out of Lorraine. Besides 

of Tenny, was naturally unwilling to commit the care of a share in Miss Tenny, he also owns Tennith, 'Vera K. and 

the horse to a new trainer, and having marked the Sensina. There is no dissent in turf circles to the opin- 

modest, yet painstaking way in which Mr. Karrick per- ion that Mr. Karrick is one of the most painstaking and 

formed his subordinate duties, proposed that he should reliable of trainers, while his conservatism is displayed in 

assume the post of trainer. The offer was accepted, not the competence he enjoys as the result. He is popular 

without hesitation, but the results showed both the with his turf associates, and has the confidence and respect 

good judgment of the owner and the thorough, con- of the best element in the racing circles of the country. 

314 



THE AMERICAX TVli] 



Extensively :ind favorably known Irom Maine to (Cali- 
fornia. Ml'. Frank Brown has a reputation among his 
fellow tLiifmen as one of the most successful of the 
younger owners and trainers. Although still under 
thirty years of age. he has had a wider and niDie prac- 
tical experience than many older men. At a time in his 
life when most men have only just begun to lay the 
foundations lor their 
future, he has already 
passed through the 
preliminary training 
of his profession and 
has achieved reputa- 
tion. 

Born near Kansas 
City, Mo., September 
24, 1871, Mr. Brown 
left home before he 
was ten years of age 
and began at once 
that association with 
t h e thoi'oughbred 
horse which has since 
continued uninter- 
ruptedly. As falls to 
the lot of most boys 
who are brought up 
in training establish- 
ments, he began by 
exercising horses un- 
der the shed. He 
showed remarkable 
skill and as early as 
1880 had his tlrst 
mount, his em plov- 
ers. Messrs. Bell & 
Kimberly, entrusting 
him to ride Grey 
Eagle. On his first 
trial he was able to 
llnish second, which 
all will admit was a 
very satisfactorv 
achievement. In his 
second ride he did 
even better, for he 
brought in Grey 
Eagle at the head of 

the field. For several years thereafter he continued in 
the saddle and won numerous important races, showing 
excellent skill and judgment in jockeyship. 

Naturally his ambition was to become an owner, and 
he purchased Red Fox, with whom he won several 
races. He also was successful with |im Mulholland. 




FRANK BROWN 



.SubseciLiently he trained the stable of Mr. William 
McLaughlin. When racing on the Gloucester track 
was suspended he went South with several horses of 
his own and from Mr. McLaughlin's Stable. At New 
Orleans he became a prominent (iguie in the winter rac- 
ing and won considerable money, especially with Sim- 
rock. He was soon able to purchase other horses and 

had one of the im- 
portant stables of the 
South and West. Af- 
ter leaving New Or- 
leans he made a tour 
of the Western cir- 
cuit and was even 
more successRil than 
in the South. 

In recent years he 
has been more than 
ever prominent, hav- 
ing owned several 
thoroughbreds who 
have attained to dis- 
tinction under h i s 
hands. He has been 
particularly active in 
the winter racing 
upon the Southern 
tracks. Noted horses 
that he has owned 
and run have been 
Mainstay, King Will- 
iam. Gutta Percha, 
Gratify and other 
good ones. In 1S9O. 
he raced in Calitornia. 
particularly with Gut- 
ta Percha and King 
William. 

Mr. Brown has been 
so pre-eminently suc- 
cessful in training for 
others and for him- 
self and has shown 
such skill in bringing 
horses in good con- 
dition to the post that 
he has attracted the 
attention of owners 
everywhere. Mr. James R. Keene was particularly im- 
pressed with his ability, and, during the season of 1897, 
he was the trainer of the Keene string of thoroughbreds. 
For the season of 1898 he has his own stable, with 
several good horses, and has returned to Mr. Keene 
again to train some of that gentleman's best runners. 



31; 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Born at St. Louis, Mo., in 1864, Mr. Hardy Alonzo 
Campbell has for more than twenty years been actively 
engaged in the care and riding of thoroughbreds. His 
first employment was with a Mr. Kelly, of Lexington, 
in that gentleman's stable he exercised and rode for 
one season, gaining an excellent practical experience 
that laid the foundation for his future success. Subse- 
quently he engaged with Mr. Samuel Eckers, who was 
at that time one of the most prominent horsemen of St. 
Louis. He remained with Mr. Eckers until 18S0, and was 
regarded as one of the brightest boys in that gentle- 
man's establishment. By this time his attention to busi- 
ness and the unusual capabilities that he displayed in all 
his work attracted the at- 
tention of other turfmen, 
and he was generally con- 
sidered one of the most 
promising young men who 
were then seen about the 
paddocks. 

In 1880, Mr. Campbell 
came East, and although 
he was even then a com- 
paratively unknown young- 
ster, he became an em- 
ployee of the Dwyer Broth- 
ers, who, it is well known, 
have always calculated to 
have only the best men and 
boys in their establishment. 
Since that time he has 
remained uninteri'uptedly 
connected with the Dwyer 
stables, fu'st with the Dwyer 
Brothers and later with Mr. 
Michael F. Dwyer. His 
progress was rapid, and in 
the course of time he came 
to have practical control, 
as trainer, of the entire 
stable. Held in the high- 
est esteem by his employers, his ability was fully recog- 
nized by his being intrusted with the responsible work 
of bringing into condition all the great thoroughbi'eds 
who carried the Dwyer colors upon the turf 

When the Dwyer Brothers dissolved partnership, Mr. 
Campbell followed the fortunes of the younger member 
of the firm, Mr. Michael F. Dwyer. The confidence 
that was reposed in him at that time was fully demon- 
strated by Mr. Dwyer's readiness to place him in full 
control of all his horses. During his connection with 
the Dwyer stables he has trained some of the most cele- 
brated horses that ever ran on the American turf The 
skill with which he has handled these candidates for 




turf honors and the knowledge that he has displayed of 
their strong C|ualities and how to bring them cut most 
effectively have more than once proven his ability to 
cope with the best trainers in the United States in the 
present generation. 

Mr. Campbell has not confined his services alone to 
the stable of Mr. Dwyer. The intimate relations between 
Mr. Dwyer and Mi-. Richard F. Croker in racing affairs 
brought him into association with the last-named gen- 
tleman, with whose stable he has also been connected 
as trainer. His success with Mr. Croker's horses has 
not been less important than that which he has achieved 
with the hoi'ses of Mr. Dwyer. In 1894, he was en- 

ti'usted with the care of the 
American representatives 
that Messrs. Dwyer and 
Cioker sent to England to 
race on the English turf. 
Upon the other side of the 
Atlantic he was, on the 
whole, fairly successful 
with his charges. The dif- 
ficulties which beset a 
stranger on English soil, 
principally the difference in 
climatic condition and 01 
training methods, are al- 
most insurmountable by 
one who has not been to 
the manor born. Never- 
theless, when all things are 
taken into consideration, 
Mr. Campbell did very well 
indeed. 

Upon his retLiin to the 
United States in the fall of 
189s, Mr. Campbell began 
again to give his attention 
to Mr. Dwyer's horses for 
their engagements in this 
country. During the time 
that has since elapsed he has been pre-eminently suc- 
cessful in bringing many of his charges forward into the 
class of winners of great events. To give a list of all 
the horses that Mr. Campbell has prepared for their 
racing battles would be to enumerate an exceptional 
number of America's greatest thoroughbreds. 

In nearly all the big stakes wherein a contending horse 
has been obliged to be at his best in order to win from 
the best that are pitted against him, Mr. Campbell's 
charges have been again and again successful. One ot 
his greatest achievements was in bringing Ben Brush 
to the post in the Suburban of 1897 in such superb con- 
dition that he was the winner of that memorable event. 



HARDY A. CAMPBELL 



316 



THE AMI'.RICAN I'VRU 



Few jockeys that ever sported colors on the American 
tuif have been more distinguished than Mr. James F. Mc- 
Laughlin, who graduated from the saddle to become a 
successful trainer. He was born on Washington's Birth- 
day, in 1861, at Hartford, Conn. His connection with 
the turf began at an early age, and he was one of " Father 
Bill " Daly's boys. Under the watchful eye of that turf- 
man he made his d^but when he was only fifteen years 
of age. From the outset he was diligent and quick to 
learn, applying himsell 
closely to acquiring a 
mastery of the vocation 
which he had chosen. 
He was indentured to 
Mr. Daly, and received 
from that horseman a 
thorough coaching that 
was the foundation ot 
his future triumphs, and 
that before long elevated 
him to a position in the 
front rank. His success 
was something phenom- 
enal, and his name be- 
came identified with 
some of the most glori- 
ous victorious of the red, 
with blue sash, of the 
Dwyer Brothers during 
their palmy days. His 
connection with the 
Dwyers lasted some ten 
years, and his valuable 
services for them and for 
other owners brought 
him wealth. Afterward 
he rode for Mr. G. V. 
Hankins, of Chicago, 
and then for one brilliant 
season for Mr. J. B. 
Haggin. 

Ultimately, the fate 
that befalls all jockeys 
came to Mr. McLaughlin, 
and his growing weight 
put an end to his career 
in the saddle. The ex- 
perience that he gained during his jockeyship had been, 
of course, of the most valuable character, and he was 
recognized as possessing all the best qualities for a llrst- 
class trainer. Mr. Pierre Loiillard engaged his services, 
and his complete practical knowledge of the thorough- 
bred placed him at once on a basis with the best trainers 
in the country. Not content to confine himself to train- 




jAMES F. Mclaughlin 



iuij; the horses of other owners, he decided to make his 
knowledge and skill also available in his own behalf 
Accordingly, he purchased Take Back and Walcott, 
whom he trained and rode whenever the opportunity 
offered. Naturally, one who had done so well in riding 
for other owners, scarcely failed in success when riding 
for himself, and he won many good races. Walcott 
was the better horse of the two just named, and his 
winnings enabled Mr. McLaughlin to increase the size of 

his stable by adding 
other horses, who were 
often found first bv the 
post. 

The training establish- 
ment of Mr. McLaughlin 
at the present time is 
principally devoted to 
his own horses. In the 
past, such good perform- 
ers as Morello, Wern- 
berg. Premier, joe Hay- 
man, (Courtship, Arme- 
nia, Maud Adams, Slow 
Poke and many others 
have received their prep- 
aration at his hands. He 
now owns, and has in 
training, Premier by im- 
ported Sir Modred out 
of Premium; Torstenson 
by Torso out of Bessie 
Peyton; Charentus bv 
Charaxus out of Content; 
Lady Lindsay by im- 
ported Sir Modred out of 
Memento: Prosaic by Sir 
Modred out of Prose; 
Counselor Wernberg by 
imported Sir Modred out 
of Nonage; Sol by Or- 
der out of Fancy; Class- 
ique by Order out of 
Longalette ; Surrender 
bv Order out of Hannah ; 
Ordinate by Order out of 
Coots: Miss Order by 
Order out of Miss Saxon ; 
Cavalleria by Cavalier out ot Alice Vincent: Water Girl 
by Watercress out Parthenia; 18 Carat by Golden Garter 
out ot Mollie Walton; Diminutive by Sir Dixon out of 
Meriden : and Colonel Tenny by Tenny out of Katie 
Fletcher. Modest in manner, and diligent and scientific 
in his woik, Mr. McLaughlin seems destined to achieve 
luither fame .is an owner and trainer as the years go by. 



317 



THE AMERICAN 



URE 



Once upon n time tlie lielief was prevalent in turf 
circles that no man who had not begun at the very 
lowest in the profession could be expected to attain to 
the success that was the reward of those who had 
devoted a lifetime to the study of the thoi'oughbred. 
Many instances have occurred, however, in recent years 
to modify, if not to entirely disprove this proposition, 
foi' it reqLiires no very long or complete acqLiaintance 
with racing affairs to enable one to recall the names of 
manv pi'ominent turfmen who have, as it wei'e. achieved 
fame at a bound with 
compai'ativelv no pre- 
vious acquaintance with 
racing affairs. A strik- 
ing example of this state- 
ment is seen in the career 
of Mr. W. M. Wallace. 

Coming upon the tuif 
as late as 1891. Mr. 
Wallace had been, up to 
that time, engaged in the 
dry goods business. It 
took him less than live 
years to attain to a place 
in the front rank of the 
great army of owners. 
Mr. Wallace was born 
March 21, 1870. in Le.x- 
ington, Ky.. and. as was 
to be expected from his 
Southern nativity, he al- 
ways had more or less 
interest in horses. As 
has just been said, hou^- 
ever, his first definite 
venture in turf life was 
in 1 89 1. At that time he 
was engaged with Mi. 
Byron McClelland in the 
capacity of agent and 
general manager of that 
noted turfman's enter- 
prises. For some four 
years he filled this posi- 
tion to the very great 
advantage of his princi- 
pal and with credit to himself. His experiences gi'adu- 
ally determined him to enter upon the racing field upon 
his own account, and in the autumn of 1894 he made his 
plans for an independent rticing career. As a first move 
in this direction he purchased the famous horse, The 
Commoner, by Hanover, in addition to a number of 
yearlings. He raced on the principal courses East and 
West. In 1894, The Commoner distinguished hinisell 




W. M. WALLACE 



by winning the Essex Stakes at Morris Park, besides 
several good purses, while, in 1895, he came in second 
in the race for the Phtenix Hotel Stakes. In 1896. Mr. 
Wallace had a notable experience with The Commonei'. 
Starting in with the Louisville races in the spring, his 
horse finished second in two events, and then in the 
Oakley races won four straights, three stakes and one 
purse. After that he made the most brilliant showing of 
his life when, at Sheepshead Bay. he finished second to 
that grand horse, Henry of Navarre, in the Suburban 

Handicap. He won the 
highest honors on that 
occasion, and was well 
worthy to have been the 
winner. Although he 
was practically left at 
the post, he dashed 
gamely forward and 
soon assumed command 
of the field, and was 
onlv beaten after a des- 
perate struggle. In the 
Coney Island Handicap, 
at the same meeting he 
lan implaced, carrying 
top weight of 127 
pounds, the horses be- 
ing kept at the post in 
this start foi' more than 
half an hour. 

Another crack horse 
that Mr. Wallace owned 
was The Wmnei'. who. 
as a two-year old, won 
the Oakley Handicap, 
and, in 1896, held the 
record for the fastest 
mile run over the course 
at Sheepshead Bay. 

It is not often that a 
turhmaii makes such ad- 
vancement in as brief 
time as Mr. Wallace has 
displayed since he has 
been allied with racing 
affaiis. He has made 
with a rapidity and sureness that 
credit upon his shrewdness and 
his executive ability. As a trainer he has displayed 
marked ability, his aptitude in this direction show- 
ing very forcibly in the way in which he has devel- 
oped his yearlings into racers who have displayed 
eminent qualities in their two-year old and three-year 
old foims, 



his way forward 
leflects abundant 



3ii> 



THE .XMI'klCAX rUKF 



Most incii who liavu iittaincd success have been Icad- 
cTs in whatever pursuit they have chosen to follow. 
This is as true of training horses as it is in other em- 
ployments. Probably every trainer of any consequence 
is, to a greater or less degree, a leader or a specialist. 
He has his own methods, his own ideas as to the char- 
acter of thoroughbreds, and his own methods of treating 
them in order to bring out their best points. 

In a broader sense than is applicable to the profession 
generally, Mr. John V. Elliott is a specialist as a trainer, 
and has been so pre- 
eminently successful in 
the line to which he has 
devoted himself that his 
reputation has gone out 
widely among all turf- 
men. Probably the best 
test of any trainer's abil- 
ities is found when he 
is called upon to take 
hold of material that has 
been pronounced worth- 
less. In the experience 
of every trainer exam- 
ples of this character 
frequently occLir, and 
the result in some cases 
has been of a surprising- 
ly gratifying character. 

Mr. Elliott's work of 
this nature has not been, 
however, in isolated 
instances. Practically, 
he has devoted himself 
almost entirely to this 
discarded material and 
the horses that he has 
undertaken to train have 
almost without excep- 
tion been cast - otTs. 
Many of them have been 
noted horses in their 
day, but the period of 
their usefulness was sup- 
posed to have been passed before they came into Mr. 

Elliott's hands. And the interesting part of the story is Kennell won three consecutive starts. Mclntyre won 
— interesting alike to their owners and to the public — 
that these cast-offs under his handling have turned out 
winners, many of them having afterward been sold for 
large prices. 
Mr. Elliott is a native of Brooklyn, N. Y., where he 




The lirst professional appearance of the son as a turfman 
was in the capacity of owner and trainer, his purchases 
at that time including Pericles, Jack Cade and Mirama. 
He continued buying and training for himself until 1892, 
when he accepted an engagement as trainer with 
Colonel Bruce, of New York. Two years later he joined 
Mr. W. J. Speirs, of New York, for whom he trained 
successfully a year and a half, hi i.Sgs, he opened a 
public stable at Gravesend, L. I., and trained for Messrs. 
C. Cornehlsen, P. J. Dwyer. M. F. Dwyer, C. F. 

Dwyer, F. C. O'Reilly, 
McCarren, .Scott and 
others, and in that busi- 
ness he lias continued 
ever since. He has been 
eminently successful in 
bringing horses to the 
post in condition and 
they have won many of 
the most important 
stakes and purses of 
the modern turf. 

It would be a long 
list that should hold the 
names of all the horses 
that Mr. Elliott has 
handled, but a m o n g 
them may be mentioned 
Pericles, Leonawe'.l, Jack 
Cade, Mirama, Bren- 
tano. Major Domo, l^oor 
Jonathan, Blythe, Man- 
grove, Shelly Tuttle. 
Baroness, Richtield, Im- 
perial, Roller, Armitage, 
Piince George and Port- 
chester. Some good 
performances are credit- 
ed to these horses, which 
is abundant proof of the 
trainer's skill. For ex- 
ample. Shelly Tuttle 
won eleven out of thir- 
teen starts as a three- 
year old, while Leonawell won six out of eight starts. 



JOHN V. ELLIOTT 



was born in March, 1863. He received a good educa- 
tion and, at the age of twenty, entered business with his 
father, the late Mr. Charles B. Elliott.. who died in 1890. 



seven out of ten starts, and one season at Jerome Park 
won three consecutive races. These were all cast-offs, 
and their success was entirely due to Mr. Elliott's skill in 
bringing to lite and action their latent powers, a taculty 
that has won for him a peculiar and high reputation, so 
that his services are constantly sought by many eminent 
owners. He is always well engaged, and his SLiccess 
seems destined to continue for many years to come. 



319 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



There ;ii"e now in this country lew representatives of 
the old school of English turfmen. For the most part, 
the Englishmen have been contented to remain in their 
own country, having the national confidence in the 
English turf and the consequent disregard of the attrac- 
tions of racing elsewhere. Some exceptions there have 
been to this rule and in the period immediately follow- 



into the far West and engaged in ranching. A tew years 
later he removed to Chicago and started in the horse bus- 
iness, being part proprietor of the English Horse Exchange 
in that city. He came to New York in 1886, and 
again returned to his early love, steeplechasing. One 
of his first mounts was at Rockaway, on the Canadian 
horse Cyclone. He fell with him in jumping the stone 



ing our Civil War the American turf began to attract wall, being crushed so badly that for a longtime his life 
hither some proficient jockeys and very capable trainers, was despaired of. and he lay unconscious in Rellevue 
One of the most promi- Hospital for more than a 
nent of the old-time Eng- m o n t h . His vitality 
lish turfmen who have of stood him in good stead, 
late vearsbeen identified so that he slowly recov- 
with racing matters in ered sufficiently to be 
the United States, is Mr. sent home to England, 
William Bernard Gilpin, though badly crippled 
well known as an ,.._. and partially paralyzed, 
owner, trainer and ^i^^SHJI^k. After some months he 
steeplechase rider. Born i^^H^^^^^ returned again to Amer- 
in 1851, at Longford, ^^^^^^^^H ica and soon obtained an 
Cannock, in the County ^HHMilSfll^^^^^ engagement as trainer 
of Staffordshire, he is the ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^'^^ stable of Mrs. 
only son of Mr. Bernard m^B George Lorillard. This 
Gilpin, who is still a ^^^^ position he held until 
well-known Justice of Mrs. Lorillard retired 
the Peace and County iVom the tLirf, and the 
Counsellor for Stafford- following two years he 
shire. The elder Mr. - tiained the horses of Mr. 
Gilpin at one time Chuk Maxwell. Sub- 
owned and raced sev- sequently he purchased 
eral good horses. The -»*' for himself the horse 
son thus was imbued Sport and in partnership 
with love lor the with Mr. J. Taylor, as the 
thoroughbred and at an Washington Stable, had 
early age became a rider 'c ■ success with that good 
for his father. Making | hut erratic hor=e. 
his debut in 1S73, he |, In iSgs, he opened a 
carried his father's colors ' ,^,,,^ public stable and trained 
for several years with ii ^ -"^jHSBIil^V' i" addition some few 
considerable success and ^ Mr ^^S^ ^^r^^ horses of his own. In 
developed a great * ^Btt^^^^^ ^'^'^ enterprise he is still 
amount of skill as a ^^ZS^^BBtT engaged, and to-day in- 
rider. Subsequently his ' ^^'^^^^^■^ ckides among his pa- 
services were sought by ^^^^ trons some excellent 
many prominent English william b. gilpin supporters of the turf 
turfmen, for whom he Personally, Mr. Gilpin 
rode many good races. A brilliant career opened be- is a popular member 01 his profession. He has con- 
fore him and he was always able to obtain his full share sistently pursued a policy that has influenced the public 
of winning mounts. He continued riding for some to accept his methods as those of a man whose every 
nine years and achieved a reputation of being by all odds thought is tor the elevation of the sport. As an author 
the best gentleman rider known to the English turf at also. Mr. Gilpin has become favorably known. Two 
that time. of his publications. Hunting and Racing Stories and an 
In 1882, however, he determined to make a change in American tale called Ranchland, have met with a 
his life pursuits. Coming to the United States, he went considerable sale. 

320 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



It has been the good fortune of some turfmen that they 
have been able to train and ride their own horses, as 
well as to organize and direct their stables. The incal- 
culable advantages of this admirable combination of 
qualifications must be obvious to everyone. Only the 
merest reference to the matter is necessary, simply in 
order to call attention to a feature of prime importance, 
in estimating, at any time, the probable value of the 
average owner's services to the turf. 

it has already become a well established proposition 
that a generous support 
of the thoroughbred, 
combined with an in- 
telligent study of his 
capabilities, will place 
within the reach of any 
man the possibility of 
engaging in racing un- 
der conditions that give 
a reasonably fair pros- 
pect of substantial suc- 
cess. He. however, 
who, in addition to 
these fevorable condi- 
tions, has also had a 
daily and hourly asso- 
ciation with his horses 
in the process of bring- 
ing them to the post in 
right condition and has 
given his personal at- 
tention to the work of 
developing them at ev- 
ery point, unquestion- 
ably has a superior ad- 
vantage that may not 
be easily overcome. 
Furthermore, when 
such an individual has 
had a "leg up" in 
many a sharp contest 
and has added to his 
other information a de- 
tailed, practical knowl- 
edge of the character of his mounts and their peculiari- 
ties in actual work, the great advantage that he possesses 
becomes even more apparent. 

Few men upon the turf to-day combine in a more ex- 
ceptional degree the peculiar qualifications to which 
reference has just been made than Mr. William Carroll. 
A native of Connecticut, Mr. Carroll was born in the 
town of Putnam in that State. His riding experiences 
began almost as soon in his life as he was able to sit 
firmly in the saddle. His first riding was at country 




WILLIAM CARROLL 



fairs, principally in the Nutmeg State, and his ap- 
pearances on those occasions were affairs of more than 
ordinary interest. He had his first successful mount on 
Grasshopper and rode that horse a winning race in 
three half-mile heats. It was in 1883 that his turf ex- 
perience had its real beginning, when he was engaged 
to ride for Mr. J. Riley. Later on he was connected with 
the stable of Messrs. Campbell & Hankins. His work 
in the saddle attracted wide attention and he was sub- 
sequently engaged to ride the horses of Mr. Frank Weir, 

being employed by that 
gentleman at various 
times during a period 
of some five years. 

Entering the racing 
field on his own ac- 
count, he first won sev- 
eral races with that 
sturdy campaigner, Ed- 
ward F. In the course 
of time he came to be 
the owner of several 
good horses. With 
Kanesville and Mulat- 
to, who were particu- 
larly the prominent 
representatives of his 
string, he was very 
successful in winning 
many good races. In 
Chicago, where he was 
settled for something 
over two years, he was 
one of the most active 
owners and carried off 
his full share of purses. 
Among the prominent 
horses with which he 
was identified at this 
period of his life were 
Santa Mego, Lillian E. 
and others of similarly 
good calibre. His stable 
was always kept in ad- 
mirable working condition, a quality that has particu- 
larly characterized it down to the present time in 
whatever part of the country its owner has carried on 
operations. 

In recent years Mr. Carroll has had in his string Lord 
Zeni by Fonso out of Minnie Williams: The Planter by 
imported Great Tom out of Hayti, and Paros by imported 
Keene out of Grey Sail. For fifteen years he has been 
constantly before the racing public, and he is recognized 
as an energetic and reliable owner. 



321 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The career of Mr. Richard C. Doggett has been a repe- 
tition of that of many of the foremost men of the turf 
Born at Oakwood, ill., December 18, 1877, Doggett 
began his turf career when he was only fourteen years of 
age. For a short time, in iSqi, he was employed as a 
stable boy by Major Allen, but shortly attracted the 
attention of that veteran turfman, Mr. Green B. Morris, 
from whose stable have come some of the best jockeys 
and trainers of this generation. Entering the employ of 
Mr. Morris, he remained with him for two years. It was 
during this engagement that, in i8q2, he had his first 
public mount on a filly owned by Messrs. Gilpin & Taylor. 

In 1894, Doggett was engaged by Dr. Gideon L. 
Knapp, for whom he rode 
during the ensuing two 
years. He at once took a 
place as a first-class jockey, 
and for several years was 
one of the most popular 
boys then riding. One of 
his earliest successes for the 
stable of Dr. Knapp was 
winning at Biighton Beach 
on Micmac Qiieen, by im- 
ported Midlothian out of 
Patty. The odds were 100 
to I against Micmac Qiieen, 
but Doggett rode her the 
one mile distance in i min- 
ute, 45 seconds, winning 
by three lengths and beat- 
ing Lizzie. Tom Finlev and 
Logan. 

He also rode in winning 
races. Sir Walter, Cockade, 
Jodan, The Coon and oth- 
ers. At Saratoga, in the 
season 1894, he won sev- 
eral important races on An- 
nisette. He carried off the 
Bitter Root Stakes, beating 
Handspun. Urania, Agita- 
tor, Keenan, Salvation, Gutta Percha and others; he also 
won with Mistral, defeating Arapahoe, Flirt, Florinda, 
Pocahontas and others; with a Turco-Favora colt, de- 
feating Phoebus, University, Miss Dixon, Engineer and 
others; with Candelabra, defeating Stowaway, Faraday 
and Kentigerna. During this season of 1894 he had 622 
mounts, coming in first 161 times, second i is times, 
third 99 times, and being unplaced 247 times. In the 
spring of 189s, he won races at the St. Asaph track, 
riding Pekin, Premier, Tuscan and others, and beating 
many good horses, among whom were Counter Tenor. 
Tancred, Golden Gate, Vice Regal, Pulitzer and others. 




RICHARD C. DOGGETT 



At Brighton Beach, in 1895, his winning mounts in- 
cluded Marshall. Charade. Harry Alonzo, Unity and 
others. 

After the death of Dr. Knapp, in the autiunn of 189^, 
Mr. Doggett went to California, biit did not ride there. 
His work as a jockey was always of the first class, but 
ultimately that bane of all jockeys, a surplus of flesh, 
made hnn too heavy, and his days of riding were brought 
to an end. He was always one of the popular favorites, 
however, and his abundant success led frec]uenters of 
the track to follow his mounts in their betting, generally 
to their very great advantage. 

In 1896, he entered the ranks of owners, when he pur- 
chased his namesake, Dog- 
gett, a good four-year old 
chestnut by The Bard out 
of Rosewood. He person- 
ally trained Doggett and 
rode him a two mile race 
at Westchestei' and two 
races at the Aqueduct 
Course, all three of which 
he won. One of the Aque- 
duct races was a dead heat 
with Ameer, and Doggett 
won in the run off. The 
two-mile race at Morris 
Park was for the Feather 
Purse and was run in ^ 
minutes, 9S seconds, Dog- 
gett defeating Midgley, Rey 
del Mar and Baroness. The 
sLiccess of Mr. Doggett led 
him to increase his string 
by the purchase of several 
yearlings during the sum- 
mer of 1896, and he then 
had in his stable five horses 
— Doggett, Gee Gee, Harry 
Crawford, Mabel D. and 
Lillie Seals. 

During the season of 
1897, Mr. Doggett had in training Doggett, Alarum 
by Torso out of Hana, and the two-year old brown 
gelding, Sallust, by Salvator out of Lydia. Sallust won 
a good five furlongs race easily, by three lengths, in i 
minute, 3 seconds, defeating Refide, La Gitana, Ennomia 
Lerete, Deal, Beekman and May Frances. Alarum won 
a seven furlongs race at the Aqueduct Course in 1 min- 
ute. 26j4 seconds. The skill that Mr. Doggett displayed 
in his riding has also been exhibited with his own 
horses. He is a skillful trainer, and in the natural order 
of events his occupation as an owner should result in 
advantage to himself and to the turf 



THE aimi-:kicax turf 



In the person of Mr. Hdward Feakes we have an ex- Stable, being uniformly successful and giving to his em- 
ample of the best class of hard-working, intelligent Eng- ployerthe fullest satisfaction. He was not willing, how- 
lish horsemen, who have devoted their lives to riding ever, to always continue in the employ of a single 
and training. Mr. Feakes was born at Cambridge, Eng- stable, but had an inclination to ride independently, 
land, in iSsy. Early in life he determined to devote Accordingly he severed his connection with Mr. Bel- 
hunself to the turf and entered upon a severe course of mont, very much to the regret of that gentleman, and 
training with the definite purpose in view of making thenceforward accepted mounts from any one who 
himself a master of his profession. He was not willing desired his services. During the ensuing two years 
to content himself with merely good standing, but made he piloted many horses to victory and his riding of such 



up his mind that he 
would ultimately be 
first or nowhere. His 
early experience was 
in one of the best 
schools known to the 
English turf, a stable 
belonging to the cele- 
brated Matthew Daw- 
son, at Newmarket. 
There he began his 
apprenticeship and it 
was not long before 
he exhibited those 
qualities of industry 
and of knowledge of 
horses that have since 
made him so emin- 
ently successful. 

His good w o I k 
while in Mr. Daw- 
son's employ won 
him substantial recog- 
nition before long, not 
only in the stable in 
which he was en- 
gaged, but from out- 
siders as well. When 
Mr. Milton H. San- 
ford was in England 
he was greatly taken 
with the quality of 
Mr. Feakes' riding and 
brought him to Amer- 
ica in 1871. Subse- 
quently, when Mr. 
Sanford, desirous of 




EDWARD FEAKES 



achieving turf honors in England, took his stable to that 
country, he intended to have Mr. Feakes ride for him 
there. But the work of the young English jockey in 
the United States had already commended itself to turfmen 
here and he was persuaded to remain in New York, 
being engaged to ride the horses in the stable of the 
Honorable August Belmont. 
For three years Mr. Feakes rode for the Belmont 



and 



champions as Check- 
mate. Glen mo re 
Gabriel and others ex- 
cited the highest ad- 
miration, alike on the 
part of the general 
public, with whom 
he became a popular 
favorite, and on the 
part of those experts 
in horsemanship who 
were quick to recog- 
nize expert riding. 

Engaged for Mr. 
Pierre Lorillard, he 
rode for that gentle- 
man during the years 
1 88 1, 1882 and 1883, 
and was quite as suc- 
cessful in returning 
winners, often under 
adverse c i r c u m- 
stances, as when he 
was riding for Mr. 
Belmont and other 
owners. During the 
seasons of 1884 and 
1885 his services were 
engaged by Mr. A. J. 
Cassatt, the wealthy 
Pennsylvanian who 
owned that great race 
horse, The Bard. 
There he added many 
laurels to his already 
long list of victories. 
For some years after 
then trainer of the stable of 



18S0 he was jockey 
Mr. James Galway. 

In the early season of iSqS, the success of Mr. Feakes 
with the stable of Mr. John Daly was of a sterling 
character. The victories of Jean Bereaud in winning the 
National Stallion Stakes and the Eclipse Stakes, as well 
as manv others, was a striking tribute to his ability as a 
trainer. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



In looking over the careers of our leading owners and 
trainers one cannot fail to be impressed by the consider- 
able number of them who have come into the turf world 
through the interest that thev have first taken in the trot- 
ting horse. So many sections of the United States have 
been almost exclusively devoted to the trotter, that it is 
not surprising that many clever horsemen have been de- 
veloped in connection with that equine family. It is 
natural that many of these gentlemen should, alter a 
time, turn their attention to the running horse. 

The pages of American turf history are crowded with 



For many years previous he had bred trotters, some of 
whom turned out to be very speedy, and he came to 
Mr. Madden's stable abundantly experienced and handled 
that owner's horses in an exceedingly satisfactory man- 
ner. Later on he purchased two yearlings, afterward 
known as Suisun and Ornament. Suisun, he sold to 
Mr. M. F. Dwyer and still later the horse was the prop- 
erty of Mr. H. Eugene Leigh. Ornament was retained 
bv Mr. Patterson and proved a most successful two-year 
old and three-year old racer. His winnings in 1896 in- 
cluded the Lexington Futurity, the Sheepshead Bay 




ORNAMENT 



C. T. PATTERSON 



such examples, and foremost in the class mav be placed 
Mr. Charles T. Patterson, who was born in Pittsburg, Pa., 
February 4, 1869. The father of Mr. Patterson was a 
well-known owner of trotters and brought up his son to 
an intimate acquaintance with his stable. When young 
in years, Mr. Patterson won many races with his father's 
horses. Once he drove Bessemer a mile in 2 minutes, 
13X seconds, which was very fast time in those days. 

In 1891, Mr. Patterson began his connection with the 
thoroughbred, engaging to train for Mr. J. E. Madden. 



Double Event and other important races, the total amount 
that he won being over §23,000. He was also raced by 
Mr. Patterson in 1897, winning $52, 7S0. 

In the season of 1898 Ornament, who is by Order out 
of Victorine, was the property of Messrs. H. P. Headley 
and W. P. Norton. He won the Brooklyn Handicap 
easily in 2 minutes, 10 seconds, over a very heavy track. 
Mr. Patterson owns the four year old Burlesque by De- 
ceiver, the two-year old Heber Jones by imported Pirate 
of Penzance, and some other good horses. 



324 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The racing experience of Mr. Edward I'eters embraces 
a period of more than twenty years. His connection 
with the track began the first year that Brighton Beach 
was opened. He was a mere youngster then, having 
been born in the City of Churches, March 20, 1864. At 
first he was identified with the stable of the Messrs. 
Hopson Brothers, who then had some fifteen or twenty 
good thoroughbreds. Perhaps the best horses in the 
string were Delilah, Florimel, Woodcraft and Auburn. 
Mr. Peters rode these and others in many uood 



winning four races and receiving part of the money in 
eight more. In the remaining six races in which he 
was unsuccessful, unforeseen mishaps, such, for instance, 
as being left at the post, were the cause of his failure. 
Billali by Rayon D'Or also showed himself to be a colt 
of merit. Other good horses who will be recalled at the 
mention of Mr. Peters' name have been Silver Mint, 
Canadian, Son Malheur, and Gloriana. Rifler, in 1896, 
at the Aqueduct Course, won a four furlongs dash, 
carrying top weight and defealing Phaedra and others. 




FLORAL PARK 



EDWARD PETERS 



races, frequently carrying the colors of his employers 
victoriously at the head of a big field. 

Since he has been engaged in racing on his own ac- 
count, Mr. Peters has owned several very useful animals. 
His stable has included such good ones as Canadian, 
Rifler, Billali, Floral Park and Fair Rebel, in 1895, his 
horses won nearly seventy races, which, all things con- 
sidered, was a remarkably satisfactory showing. Floral 
Park, as a two-year old in 1896, and as a three-year old in 
1897. did excellent work. He was started eighteen times, 



A thoroughly well-trained horseman, Mr. Peters has 
always found his early experience as exercise boy and 
jockey especially valuable to him in his later career as an 
owner. Florimel w*as a mount with which he was par- 
ticularly successful and he learned to admire and to put 
great value upon the racing qualities of that mare. It 
was this knowledge that led him to purchase Floral Park, 
Florimel's colt by that grand race horse The Bard, and 
his career has amply justified Mr. Peters' judgment. Al- 
together his experience has been uniformly fortunate. 



32s 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Beginning his career in California, Mr. Frederick 
Merckel, in the ten years and a little more during which 
he has been identified with the turf, has become well 
known throughout the United States. He has trained 
some of the celebrated horses of the period, and his suc- 
cess in bringing them to the post in good condition has 
attracted more than ordinary attention among those fre- 
quenters of the I'ace course who watch with careful and 
critical attention. Mr. Merckel was born in Cincinnati. 
O., March 4, 1809. He was a young man nineteen years 
of age when he started upon his racing career. 

His first employment was with the stable of Mr. 



After remaining with Mr. Rose for several years, Mr. 
Merckel decided to make a change, and associated him- 
self with the Honorable E. A. Mizner. with whom he has 
since remained without interruption. Mr. Mizner, one of 
the foremost men of the Pacific Coast, is not alone known 
from his connection with the turf, but has also been promi- 
nent in public affairs, being especially distinguished as the 
Governor of the Alaska Territory. Although racing is 
entirely a side issue with him. it is his intention to own 
a grand stable of thoroughbreds and, having the means 
at his command, he is, probably, destined to play an 
important part in turf affairs in the near future. In the 




FRED MERCKEL 



RUINART 



George Rose, one of the prominent bookmakers ol Cali- 
fornia. Theie he had charge of (jeraldine, a world re- 
nowned sprinter who, under his management, raced on 
all the principal tracks of the United States. Geraldine, 
who was by the famous Grinstead »ut of Cousin Peggy, 
still holds the world's record for a half-mile dash, which 
she ran in 46 seconds over the straight course of the New 
York Jockey Club, in August, 18S9. Other good horses 
that Mr. Merckel has handled have been Rear Guard, 
Boreas, Nephew, Badger, Empress of Norfolk, Monterey 
and Middleton. 



person of Mr. Merckel he has an adJLitant of undoubted 
capacity, and one to whom his racing interests may 
safely be intrusted. 

Ruinart. the principal member of Mi'. Mizner's stable 
is by St. Carlo out of Qiieen Alta. He is a first-class 
thoroughbred and has won some of the best races on the 
Western circuit, defeating many of the crack horses on 
the Pacific Coast. He has traveled i mile and 70 yards 
in 1 minute, 4614 seconds; i mile in i minute. 41^2 sec- 
conds and 1 '+' miles in 2 minutes. 6:^4 seconds. The 
record last mentioned was for the Burns Handicap. 



326 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



It is an old saying, that to be successful in any enter- 
prise one's heart must be in his work. Probably none will 
be so venturesome as to dispute this proposition, but it 
is not always put into el'fect, nor are its results always 
fully recognized. Particularly, however, does the rule 
seem to apply to racing, and it is exceedingly doubtful 
if any man has attained to conspicuous prominence on 
the turf unless he has been enthusiastically devoted to 
the sport. Now and then, indeed, in this connection 
we even have examples of those who apparently ignore 
their best interests solely by yielding to their liking for 
certain branches of the sport. 

That Mr. lohn Nixon is a lover of the thoroughbred, 



was born at Cross Hill, in the Township of Wellsley, 
Can., in 1853. When he was twenty-three years of 
age he began dealing in horseflesh and was eminently 
prosperous. Extending his field of operations from 
merely local circles, he made large consignments to Eu- 
rope, in all of which ventures he was successful. Finally, 
having accumulated considerable means, he bought for 
his private amusement several trotters and jumpers. 

Soon tiring of the trotters, Mr. Nixon found that the 
jumpers were his ideals. He set out to buy the best in 
this class that the country afforded, and has owned 
some of the most famous steeplechasers of this period. 
Lion Heart, a bay gelding bv Lepanto out of Queen Lyon, 




JOHN NIXON 



LION HEART 



no one would for a moment question, and his interest in 
the blood horse has been particularly manifested toward 
the jumping class. Inasmuch as the performances of the 
jumpers have afforded him most pleasure, he has devoted 
himself altogether to their training, although the same 
talent that he has therein displayed might reap him better 
financial rewards if spent upon the flat runners. But it 
is because the jumpers have appealed to him more 
strongly than their rivals that he has been unswerving 
in his connection with them. Like so many other turf- 
men to whom it is frequent Iv necessary to refer, Mr. 
Nixon was at one time interested in the trotter. He 



was probably the greatest horse that Mr. Nixon owned. 
In one year, out of some twelve starts, he won six of his 
races and was placed in most of the others. He was 
never known to fall in any of his races and has carried 
the heaviest weight ever imposed upon a four-year old. 
Among other winnings he must be credited with the 
Walker Cup. at Hamilton, Ont., and the Beverwick 
Stake, at Saratoga. In 1897, he was sold to Mr. M. F. 
Uwyer, and in 1898 Mr. Dwyer sold the horse to 
William Stallcup. Among other great jumpers that Mr. 
Nixon has owned have been Lawyer,, Alfonsina, Valour, 
Kings County and Counsellor. 



.■?27 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



It is a little singular, perhaps, that our neighbors of vidual, the fabric of the turf rests. However well bred 

the Dominion of Canada have not, to any great extent, a horse may be, however lavishly money may be spent 

been conspicuous for their interest in thoroughbred rac- in maintaining large stables, and however great may be 

ing. One would naturally suppose that, inheriting the the encouragement given by jockey clubs and individuals, 

national instincts of their old home across the sea, they all this would count for but little were it not for the 

would take very naturally and heartily to the thorough- energetic, capable and far-seeing work that is bestowed 

bred. Even the French contingent of the Dominion by the best trainers upon the horses that come under 

should also have, by inheritance, a liking for the same their care. It is needless to point out that a horse 

class of horses. That the contrary is the case, however, brought to the post in bad condition is worse than a fail- 



seems to be abundantly 
proven, and whether it is 
for climatic reasons or 
others, thoroughbred rac- 
ing in Canada is a small 
quantity and thorough- 
bred breeding almost 
non-e.xistent. Aside from 
meetings at Montreal, 
Hamilton and Toronto 
and a few places of sec- 
ond or third class, there 
have never been many 
serious attempts at high- 
class racing on the other 
side of our northern bor- 
der. 

Notwithstanding this 
condition ofthings, appar- 
ently so adverse to the 
development of skilful 
handlers of the thorough- 
bred, some of our best 
trainers have come into 
the States from Canada. 
The general knowledge of 
horsetlesh which is preva- 
lent in that section of the 
land must undoubtedly go 
far toward explaining their 
proficiency in this profes- 
sion, for Canada has, from 
the earliest settlement of 
America, been one of the 
centres for the raising of 
trotters, draught horses 
and pleasure animals. 

That the experience in regard to horses generally, thus 
gained in their early home, should be turned by many 
men of Canadian birth to the handling of thoroughbreds 
when opportunity has offered is most natural. And it 




J. R. WALKER 



ure. Not only is he a dis- 
appointment to his owner 
and backers, but he also 
represents great loss in 
breedmg and stable ex- 
penditures. 

Although the thorough- 
bred race horse has be- 
come the noblest animal 
of creation, he may easily. 
in domestication, deteri- 
orate toward the nat- 
ural condition of his an- 
cestors, unless he is prop- 
erly cared for. If his 
best qualities are not pre- 
served in his preparation 
for the turf, he cannot suc- 
cessfully stand up in hard 
contests with others in 
whom these qualities have 
been peitectly and care- 
fLilly preserved. To de- 
velop a horse in muscle, 
firm and hard, and to re- 
duce his flesh until he is 
in racing tbrm, is a task 
both difficult and delicate. 
Mr. J. R. Walker is one 
of those trainers of Cana- 
dian origin who have been 
pre-eminently successful 
in their handling of thor- 
oughbreds. Although a 
young man, he has had 
a large experience and is 
intelligent and enterpris- 
ing. He is a man of thought and wide awake and has 
given to his chosen pursuit much laborious consider- 
ation. Among those who know him best he is exceed- 



ingly popular, his gracious personality commending him 

must be admitted that some of the most proficient and to a large circle of friends, while his merits as a trainer 

most reliable trainers that our turf world has known ^ne fully recognized. At one time he had charge of the 

have come from the Dominion. stable of Mr. Joseph E. Seagram, where he brought 

Upon the trainer, quite as much as upon any indi- some good horses successfully to the front. 

32S 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



From exercise boy to owner is the consistent record he h;id become as extensively and as favorably i<nown 
that has attached to many well-known turfmen. To as any man in his particular profession. After he came 
thus go into business at the foot of the ladder and grad- East he began buying horses on his own account, start- 



ually, by dint of energy, natural talent, close applica- 
tion and intuitive fitness for dealing with horses, reach 
the top, is an achievement that must substantially redound 
to the credit of any man. .Such a record has Mr. 
John T. Carmody, who lor more than twenty years 
has been closely connected with racing affairs through- 
out the United States. 

Mr. Carmody is a 
native of New York, 
and has had a varied 
and successful career 
in the special branches 
of horse racing to 
which he has chosen 
to devote himseil. His 
particular inclination 
toward r a c i n g led 
him, in 1875, to seek 
employment in con- 
nection with this 
sport. He was en- 
gaged as exercise boy 
for Mr. Joseph Robin- 
son and in that 
gentleman's stable 
served his apprentice- 
ship faithfully and 
well. In the course 
of time he graduated 
from the position of 
exercise boy to be- 
come a jockey, still 
remaining connected 
with the stable of Mr. 
Robinson. His first 
mount was on Billy 
Sherman, then a well 
known horse, and on 
that animal he madi.' 
his first win. In the 
years immediately 
ensuing he rode for 
other stables, but finally, when it was impossible tor 
him to keep himself down to weight, he entered upon 
the profession of training. 

As a trainer he was first employed by Mr. Joseph 
Stewart, of Columbus, O. After that he was connected 
with the stables of Messrs. Joseph Mitchell, Peter Hagel, 
W. Harraman, James Peine and E. A. Flenniken. His 
training career ended about i8S^. Heretofore he had 
confined himself almost exclusively to the West, where 





JOHN T. CARMODY 



ing as an owner in 1886. His racing operations were 
carried on all over the United States, and it was not long 
before he became well known upon the courses in the 
North and elsewhere. 

During the ensuing ten years or so few men trained 
and ran a larger number of horses than Mr. (Carmody. 

It would be a long 
and interesting list 
that should contain 
the names of all the 
animals with which 
he was thus identi- 
fied. Among them 
would be recalled 
Molly Thomas. John 
Alexander, Glendale, 
St. Elmo, G e o r g e 
Angus, Veto, Pam- 
pero, iKike of Bour- 
bon, Jersey Pat. Ra- 
pine, Sam Harper, 
Groomsman, Mamie 
Hay, Gold Star. Bass 
Viol, Dago, Hypona, 
Trade Dollar, Duke of 
Montalban, Eric, Po- 
cahontas. Giapeshot, 
Frank Harper, Gov- 
einor Roberts. Shot- 
over, George L. and 
Alhambia. and still 
the enumeration is 
tai' lYom being com- 
plete. 

With Glendale, St. 
1 Imo, Rapine. Trade 
Dollar and otliers he 
raced verv success- 
lullv in the later 
eighties, carrying off 
many good purses 
and stakes. Glendale 
by Glenmore out ot Alice G. was a very reliable horse. 
Much of Mr. Carmody's racing cai'eer in the East 
was upon the Clilton and Guttenberg tracks. In later 
years most of his operations have been conducted on the 
Western circuit, where he has had very fair success. He 
must be counted in that army of hard working, unpre 
tentious tLu-fmen, who.se careers, if not sensationally 
brilliant, have at least contributed a great deal to the 
popularization of racing. 



329 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Father and son, Messrs. Thomas and William T. Mc- 
Givney, have had a racing experience that runs back 
over nearly forty vears. The elder Mr. McGivney is a 
native of Brooklvn, N. Y., and was born in 1842. He 



the stable of Mr. Weeks, in 1887, he became attached to 
that of Mr. John W. Driscoli, and there he remained for 
two years. 
Just about this time Mr. McGivney felt his inclination 



is another example of those whom, in the review of the turning strongly toward the running turf. Leaving the 

history of racing, we so frequently come across who establishment of Mr. Driscoli he became connected with 

began their experience with horses in connection with the stable of Mr. McFadden, who was racing at Gutten- 

trotters. Mr. McGivney had not yet passed out of his berg and elsewhere, and had some very good horses in 

teens when he began to devote himself to the trotter, his string, among them being Rapine, Ballard, Sunday, 

Animals of this class he bred, owned and trained, and and others of not less importance. While with Mr. 

had fair success in bringing out some very speedy ones. McFadden, McGivney had considerable experience as a 

This pursuit engrossed his attention for something over jockey, and rode very m.iny races on the horses that 

thirty years and might almost be considered his life work, have just been mentioned and their stable companions, 

It was in 1893 when Mi'. McGivney started in with and was successful in winning a f;ur share of the events 



runners, and he was as suc- 
cessful with those as he 
had been with his ti'otters. 
Among the horses that he 
has handled have been 
Maggie Richards, Motor- 
man, High Commissioner, 
The Mistress, and others 
whom he has brciught into 
condition th.it enabled them 
to win some of the best 
races in which they were 
entered. His success with 
representatives of the run- 
ning turf has given him an 
established reputation as a 
sound and reliable trainer, 
whose work has been of 
the most painstaking and 
consistent chaiacter. He 
has shown that he is capa- 
ble of getting out of any 
horse that is entrusted to 
him the best that is possi- 
ble. 

Mr. William T. McGiv- 
ney is a worthy successor 
of his father in the turf 

world; rather he is an associate than a successor, for he 
has been connected with his father in some joint enter- 
prises. At the same time he has gone further than the 
elder McGivney in general activity in turf affairs. The 
son was born in Brooklyn in April. 1870. Naturally, 
as his father was so strongly interested in trotters, the 
boy followed in his parent's footsteps. When he was 
only fourteen years of age, he was employed by Mr. W. 
E. Weeks as an exercise boy in that gentleman's stable. 
There he remained for three years, giving excellent satis- 
faction to his employer and gaining an invaluable expe- 
rience in regard to horses of all kinds. After he left 



WILLIAM T. McGIVNEY 



in which he started. When 
he left Mr. McFadden in 
189^, it was to join the 
forces of Mr. John Rogers, 
lor whom he rode Estelle, 
Free Lance and others. 

His engagement with the 
Rogers' Stable lasted only 
a few months, however, 
and, for a short time sub- 
sequent thereto, he re- 
tuined to his earliest em- 
ployment, taking a position 
as trainer with Mr. Parks, 
who owned several good 
trotting horses whom Mr. 
McGivney trained. The 
passion for the running 
horse was too strong in 
him to be resisted, and it 
was not long before he 
associated himself with 
Mr. Owen McBreen, who 
owned the BLitternut Val- 
ley Stock Faun. There he 
had the training of such 
horses as High Commis- 
sioner, Bersan Belle, The 
Mistress, Hermano and others. A creditable degree of 
success crowned his work with these horses. 

For several vears past the two Messrs. McGivney 
have been running their own horses and have met with 
a fiir amount of success. Thev have not been promi- 
nent in the great events of the turf, but must be 
included in the large army of hard-working turfmen, 
upon whom the bulk of the labor of making the differ- 
ent meetings interesting depends in no small measure. 
Among the horses that have carried the McGivney 
colors have been Batchelor, Inspection and Fairview. In- 
spection is a daughtei' of Inspector B. and Rosa Buckden. 




330 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Although ot foreign birth, Mr. William Hayward, or 
Billy " Hayward, as he is best known to the American 




f 




WILLIAM HAYWARD, SR- 

r.icing public, was one of the American knights of the 
pigskin, who, during his career, won as many honors as 
fell to the fortune of any of his livals. M|-. Hayward was 
born at Northampton, Eng.. in 1843, and alter five years' 
apprenticeship in the stable of Alec Taylor, became 
connected with the establishment of Matthew Daw- 
son, whei'e he remained some eight years. When Mi'. 
Milton H. Sanfoi'd returned to the United States froiri 
his English campaign he brought Haywai'd with him. 

After a short time spent in this country. Mr. Hayward 
returned to England, but finally came back to America 
and entered the employment of the Honorable August 
Belmont. Subsequently he rode for Mr. Lucien O. Ap- 
pleby, for Mr. A. J. Cassatt, for Senator George Hearst, 
and finally for the Burridge Brothers. During his long 
career he rode and won with many of the most famous 
horses of their day, carrying off the greatest turf prizes, 
such as the Preakness Stakes, the Dinner Party Stakes, 
the Westchester Cup, the Saratoga Cup and many 
others. He was a veteran when he retired, crowned 
with as bright laurels as anv man who had ever rid- 
den to victory. 



As a trainer, Mr. Hayward has shown the same 
marked ability that always distmguished his riding. He 
is now in charge of the Sensation Stable, where he has 
had several reliable campaigners — Herald, Tremargo, 
Chum, X Ray, Endeavor and Salaire. The three-year 
olds are Murallo, Mont D'Or, Fleeting Gold. Munich, 
Daisy Cutter, Falsehood, Miss Gossip and Stonestep. 
The two-year olds are Magic Prince, Loiter, Quo Vadis, 
Ocean Prince, Bondman, Fray and Sketch. He is him- 
self the owner of Nana H. and His Majestv. The racing 
colors of Mr. Hayward are black, white polka dots, 
white cap. 

The elder William Hayward has been fortunate in 
having a son who has inherited much of his father's tal- 
ent in racing affairs. Through fiither and son the name 
will long live in American turf history. Mr. William 
Hayward, Jr., not only comes naturally by his skill in 
handling horses, but also received a careful training at 
the hands of his father. To all lovers of the turf it is a 
pleasure to feel that a family that has done so much to 
popularize racing still continues to be represented in the 
sport in the persons of this father and son. 

The younger Mr. Hayward on his own meiit is entitled 
to abundant consideration as a rider and trainer, possess- 
ing in a large degree the skill, judgment and quickness 
that made his father famous. Beginning riding at an 
early age, he has had many brilliant races to his credit. 
Among his many notable mounts, perhaps the most prom- 
inent were Tristan, Belle D'Or, Now or Never and Pick- 
nicker. His riding of Now or Never in the Parkway 
Handicap was a masterly piece of horsemanship. As an 




WILLIAM HAYWARD, JR. 

owner, Mr. Hayward has had Sextet and Repetition. He 
is now engaged with his father in the Sensation Stable. 



331 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



While racing families have been frequent enough in the 
Old World, thev have not been numerous in the United 




A, J. GOLDSBOROUGH 



States. It is tiiie that here some such instances have ex- 
isted, particularly perhaps among the earlier turfmen and 
owners, whose names have become historical in connec- 
tion with American racing, such as the Hamptons, the 
Tayloes, the Johnstons, the Belmonts. the Sanfords, the 
Harpers and now and then another. In the ranks ot 
those less conspicuous, but no less usetLil and meiitorious 
in their turf connection, there have been other examples, 
as, for instance, that of the Goldsborough family. 

Mr. A. J. Goldsborough inherited his racing proclivi- 
ties from his father, who was a well known horseman. 
The son was born at Leonardtown, Md., April 27, iSbq. 
He received a substantial public school education and 
began his turf career by exercising for his father's stable. 
After a time he became a jockey, his tlrst mount being 
for Dr. Lynch and his first win on a horse called Boston. 
It was in 1888 that he first came North with Dr. Lynch 
and made his appearance upon the metropolitan tracks. 
After that he became associated with Messrs. Cohen & 
Co in the capacity of trainer. 

For five years, beginning with 1890, Mr. Goldsborough 
trained for Mr. J. B. Collins and was highly successful 
with that owner's stable. After leaving Mr. Collins he 
trained for Mr. W. Landsberg, who owned Governor 
Sheehan, Captain Kidd, Storm King and others. Leaving 
Mr. Landsberg at the end of one season he began to train 
for the Hamilton Stable, handling such horses as Zanone 
and King William. More recently, he has trained for 
Messrs. Plate & Co. 



Mr. Charles H. Goldsborough, brother to Mr. A. J. 
Goldsborough, was born in Maryland, October 12, 1874. 
Like his father and elder brother, he early determined 
upon a racing career. When he was only thirteen years 
of age he began exercising in the stable of Mr. j. DeLong 
and then he began to ride under the title of Hayden, 
his middle name. His first winning mount was on 
Kanesville. His career as a jockey continued until 1895. 

Becoming associated with Mr. J. B. Collins, he was 
with that turfman, at the same time that his brother was 
with the stable. Among other good horses that he handled 
were Sirocco and Longford. Afterward, for the stable 
of Mr. Michael Clancy, he trained Lambent, Tenderness 
and several others, including a number of two-year olds. 
Lambent was the best horse in the stable, an imported 
bay filly by Amphion out of Starlight by Iroquois. 
Under Mr. Goldsborough's handling she developed good 
speed as a three-year old, winning several excellent races 
and coming in for second and third money in many 
others. At Coney Island she ran six furlongs in 1 min- 
ute, 14 4-5 seconds and at the Bennings Course won a 
mile race, defeating Navaho, Sun Up and others. 

In all his work Mr. Goldsborough has shown himself 
painstaking and possessed of an accurate knowledge 
of horses that fits him for his position. His early expe- 





.«; 



CHARLES H. GOLDSBOROUGH 

rience under Mr. DeLong was of a thorough character 
and has been beneficial to him throughout his career. 



332 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



An old-timer is Mr. James F. Waiden, who was born 
at Columbus, S. C, in August, 1837. He became con- 
nected with the running turf when he was ten years, 
old. His father, Mr. George G. Waiden, was engaged 
in the business of handling race horses, and his three 
sons, Wyndham, Jeter and James F., follawed him in 
their choice of occupation. All three have kept an inter- 
est in racing to the closing years of the century. 

For tlve years Mr. James F. Waiden was engaged in 
exercising in his Other's stable and during that time rode 
many races He found it imperative to stop riding at 
sixteen years of age, but immediately took up training 
and was employed by Mr. Calvin Green. Afterward he 
became connected again with his father's stable, where 
some of Mr. Richard Ten Broeck's horses were trained, 
among them Prioress, The Count, and others. Next he 
came to the stable of Mr. Lloyd, of Lloyd's Neck, L. 1., 
and then trained the stable of Mr. Thomas Pryor. 

During the Civil War Mr. Waiden served in the Con- 
federate Army, but afterward returned to New York and 
became assistant trainer for Messrs. Pryor & Watson, 
was three years with Colonel D. McDaniel, and then as- 
sociated with Mr. Jacob PincLis in the management of 
the stable of the Honorable August Belmont. For four 
years he handled the horses of Mr. Hunt Reynolds, and 
then took the stable of Mr. Frank Stern, the horses of 
Mr. Bennett and other owners. In recent years he has 
trained for Mr. John A Morris and Mi. George Engeman, 



.Mr. William C. Smith has a high and constantly grow- 
ing reputation in the inner circles of the turf world. In 





JAMES F. WALDEN 



and, since 1892, has had a public stable, where he has 
trained some first-class horses. 



WILLIAM C. SMITH 

the public eye, however, he is perhaps less prominent 
than his ability would merit, from the fact that through- 
out his racing career he has been connected with only 
one stable, that of his brother, Mr. George E. Smith. 
The success which this stable has achieved during the 
last few years has undoubtedly been in no small measure 
due to the skill, energy and devotion which Mr. William 
C. Smith has displayed in his capacity as trainer. 

Born in Allegheny County, Pa., in i86i, Mr. Smith 
took charge of his brother's stable in 1888. Before that 
time he had lifted himself for the position by a close and 
careful observation of the methods of the best men in the 
profession, supplemented by a practical acquaintance 
with every detail of the work. The record that has been 
made by this stable is in the highest degree creditable, 
for Mr. Smith has sent the purple jacket and canary cap 
to the head of the field in some of the hardest fought 
races known to the period. Only the merest reference 
to the success of such horses as Parvenue, King Cadmus, 
Wernberg, Howard Mann, The Winner and Belmar, who 
are referred to more fully in the account that has been 
o-iven of Mr. George E. Smith's turf career is needed to 
emphasize the fiict of the younger Mr. Smith's undoubted 
talent and to his standing as one of the best trainers in 
the country. 



333 



THE AMERICAN i'URF 



Born in New York, January 12, 186^, Mr. Thomas F. Horsemanship came to Mr. William R. Midgley as an 

Barrett began his I'acing experience at an early age. For inheritance, his father having been one of the exponents 

of the art of training in the beginning of modern racing 
in this country. The elder Mr. Midgley was an English- 
man of expeiience and in this country had charge of the 
stables of the elder Mr. .August Belmont, Mr. D. D. With- 
ers, Commodoie Kittson and Mr. William Astor. His 
son, William R. Midgley. was born in England, February 
3, 1875. Brought to the United States while an infant, 
he was educated here and began exercising horses in 
tile stables under the charge of his father. 

Ultimately Midgley became a jockey, his first mount 
being for Albert Cooper on Miss Belle, with whom 
he won the race. Afterward he rode for Mr. A. J. Joyner 
and for Mr. J. E. McDonald and won for those gentle- 
men many good races on Chesapeake, Rubicon and 
othei' members of their stables. For two years he was 
engaged with Mr. Marcus Daly, again rode for Mr. Mc- 
Donald, and ultimately went to the West, where he 
turned his attention to training. The first horse he 
trained, Skv Blue, was a winner of its maiden race. 
.Another animal of merit that he handled was Midgley, 





THOMAS F. BARRETT 

a short time he exercised horses around the famous 
Bull's Head, that headquarters for the horse business of 
New York City. Next he went to Havana, Cuba, and 
was engaged as a jockey. liding at eighty-two pounds. 
The races were run on Sundays only and on three differ- 
ent Sundays Barrett won three races. 

Returning home he continued to ride, his fli'st mount 
being Clarendon and his last mount Blizzard. When he 
became a trainer, he had such horses as Royal Arch. 
Henry B., Harpooner, Mcintosh, and Jack Rose, and with 
them had good success. He brought Royal Arch into 
condition to beat noted performers like General Monroe, 
Girofle and others. Jack Rose won many races and at 
one time reeled off six straight. 

Mr. Barrett now has a piiblic training stable and is 
handling Live Oak by Linden; Marshall by Voltiguer; 
Tappan by Powhatan; Long Acre by St. George; a three- 
year old black tlUy by Reporter, and two promising 
two-year olds, St. Claire by St. Leonards and Kirkwood 
by George Kinney. His own horses are Kirkwood, 
Long Acre and St Claire, the first and the last named be- 
ing winners in some of the early events of the 1898 
season. The racing colors of Mr. Barrett are blue, white 
hoops on sleeves, blue and white cap, and they have 
shown at the front in many stirring events. 




WILLIAM R. MIDGLEY 



who was named after him. The racing colors of Mr. 
Midgley are blue, yellow sash, blue and yellow cap, 



334 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Born in l);iyton, O., Mr. himes H. Dumas is now lo- 
cated at that centre of racing. Coney Island, where he 




JAMEb H DUMAS 



has a public training stable. He began with race horses 
in 1870, as an exercise boy and then became a jockey in 
the same stable in which he was fnst employed, remain- 
ing there for about three years. Afterward he accepted an 
engagement to ride for Mr. W. Beecher, with whom he 
remained for one year. In those days jockeys did not ride 
four or five races a day as they do now. They were lucky 
to have two mounts a day and success in proportion. 

After he left the employment of Mr. Beecher. Dumas 
became connected with the stable of Mr. W. Brady, 
with whom he remained for six years, having ex- 
ceptional success, as the record of Mr. Biady's Stable for 
that period fully demonstrates. His mounts included 
Ada Lambent, Bell of the West, Ida. Eli and others. 
Leaving Mr. Brady's employment, he branched out as an 
owner for a short time, but still preferring to ride, en- 
gaged again as a jockey with the Lamasney Brothers, 
for whom he won some big stakes in the West. 

Returning to ti'aining, Mr. Dumas took the horses of 
Mr. W. Browning, including Captain Wood, Great Marie 
and others, and then coming East handled the horses of 
Mr. Jere Dunn. He had the horses of the Castle Stable 
for some years, in which time he trained Diablo, Ber- 
muda, Elmstone, Thorndale, Argo, Sunshine, Watch Me^ 
Elkton. and more than a score others, several of whom 
were notably successful. For three years past he has been 
conducting a public training stable and is looked upon as 
one of the most careful and successful trainers of the 
day, having among his charges several good horses. 



Among the popular and reliable jockeys of his time 
none enjoyed a more enviable record than Dave Sloan. 
He has had a varied racing career. Born at Seneca, S. C, 
in 1873, he ran away from home when a mere lad. Fate 
led him to Corsicana, Tex., where he obtained a posi- 
tion in the stable of a Mr. Atkinson, where he exercised 
horses for a year. 

Then he went to New Orleans and became a very 
successful rider. Mr. J. F. Caldwell, the famous starter, 
was struck by his performances and brought him North 
to ride for Mr. D. D. Withers. After a regular season 
here he went West for Applegate Brothers and 
thence to New Orleans again, where he rode for Mr. T. 
M. Berry and Mr. Samuel Hildreth. For a short time 
thereafter he retired from the turf, but soon returned to 
the saddle, going first to the City of Mexico to ride a 
match race which he won by a head. Coming back to 
the United States, he rode jumpers for Mr. James Coch- 
rane, and won the Tobacco Stakes at Latonia on Henry 
YoLing lor Mr. H. T. Grifiin. Among the mounts which 
won fame for him were Major Domo, Cynosure, Elator, 
Worth, Spokane and Bertha. 

Giving up riding while still in the height of his reputa- 
tion, Mr. Sloan bought Agitator from Mr. James H. 
McCormick, won a race and sold him and engaged to 
train for Mr. Fiank L. Parker. He now conducts a public 
stable and has Mr. Parker's horses, and also those of 
other owners. He owns the three-year old chestnut tilly 




DAVID SLOAN 



Maud Ellis and several others ot promise. Mr. Sloan is 
noted for his agreeable manner and straightforwardness. 



335 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



From his infancy Mr. Frederick T. Miller has been con- 
nected with the turf. He was born January 4, 1865, at 




Born in Birmingham, England, May 4, 1836, Mr. 
Alfred Lakeland came to the United States with his 
brother, Mr. William Lakeland. After he had been in 
this country a few years he became connected with a 
large New Jersey farm, where he had his first experience 
in exercising, and then was engaged with Mr. Thomas 
Patterson, who was training for Captain Cottrill, of 
Alabama. For that stable he exercised and rode for 
seven years. 

After a time he took to riding over jumps for Captain 
Cottrill. having the mount on Colonel EUinger, with 
whom he won several races. When his riding career 
was at an end he joined his brother as assistant trainer. 
Afterward he bought horses for himself and also trained 
those of Mr. Fred Robinson, and won some good races 
with such horses as Little Fellow, Madge L., Biscuit, 
Troy, Innovation, and others. He also had Buckra at 
one time, one of the best jumpers in America, and who, 
as a two-year old and carrying top weight, won nearly 
everything in sight. 

Mr. Lakeland has now in tiaining the chestnut colt 
Kilarma by Tea Tray out of Kildeer, and the two-year 
old bay filly Velvet by Victory out of Faithful. He 
also has some of his brother's horses, among them the 
three-year old Moneyspinner by Lovegold, and Sleeper 



FRED T. MILLER 

Washington, D. C. , and as his father owned a stable of 
trotters, he acquired a knowledge of horseflesh and 01 
racing affairs in his earliest years. In i88^. he entered 
the employment of Cridge & Co., the well-known book- 
makers, having charge of their field book. Remaining 
with them for two years, he was next with Mi-. John 
Spellman, upon whose death in 1889 he went into 
business for himself, making a book at all the big tracks 
in the country. He was not altogether statisfied with 
this branch of the racing business, although he was vei'y 
successful in it. The ambition to be an owner soon 
possessed him. 

In 1890, he bought the two noted campaigners Larch- 
mont and Syracuse, and entered them at many meetings 
until I •'^94, when they were retired. In the period in 
c]uestion Larchmont won stakes to the aggregate value 
of $ IS, 000, while the winnings of Syracuse footed up 
the comfortable sum of $12,000 more. In 189s, Mr. Mil- 
ler went West, combining racing and bookmaking in 
that section. In the autumn of 1896 he returned to the 
East. He now owns the bay filly Duchess Annette by 
Tristan out of Emma Mac; the chestnut flllv Deal by 
Tristan out of Shuffle, and the bay filly Ellerslie Belle, 
by Knight of Ellerslie out of Florence Belle. His colors 
are orange, black bars on sleeves, black sash and cap. 

336 




bv Sleipner. 
blue cap. 



ALFRED LAKELAND 

His racing colors are red, white sash, 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Out of the st;ible of Mr. Pierre Lorillard have come 
many capable tuifmen, most of whom began their racing 




MICHAEL A. COLEMAN 



experience in the employ of that gentleman. Among 



Bom at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., November 24, 18S7, 
Mr. John McLear was associated with horses from the 
time tliat he was able to ride. He began exercising for 
Mr. K. W. Babcock in 1870, and was with that stable 
for one season at Jerome Park. Then he attached him- 
self to Mr. Michael Murphy, who had a stable of jump- 
ers, and with him took part in racing at Saratoga and 
throughout the Hastern circuit for two seasons. In 
1878, he went on a campaign through the bushes with 
Fury and others, and continued in this branch of the 
business for several years. After that he had two trot- 
ters with whom he made the circuit of the fair grounds, 
winning five out of the seven races in which he started 
in one season. 

Joining the establishment of the Messrs. Sanfoid 
Brothers, of Amsterdam, N. Y.. he was particularly 
engaged with the jumpers of that stable. Then with 
twelve hunters and ponies he weni to Newport for two 
successive campaigns there. For four years he remained 
with the Messrs. Sanford Brothers and then went to Mr. 
Charles Reed, remaining with him off and on for eight 
years. Mr. McLear's next engagement was with ,Mr. M. 
N. Nolan, who owned the celebrated jumpei'. Bourke 
Cochran, and with that horse he had his most celebrated 
success. 

Afterward Mr. McLear was connected with Mr. Reed's 
establishment in Tennessee, and continued training with 



these is Mr. Michael A. Coleman, a native of New Jersey, him until that gentleman retired from racing, when he 
where he was born in 1861. He was thirteen years of went with Mr. James McLaughlin, and with Mr. Mat- 
age when he entered the employ of Mr. Lorillard. At 
the end of three years he left Mi'. Lorillard to go into an 
equally first-class stable, that of Mr. D. D. Withers, with 
whom he remained for one year. 

Being offered a position to ride in the West for Mr. J. 
P. Dawes, he accepted and had a successful career in 
that section and in Canada, winning principally on Spec- 
ulum and Terror. After a year, however, he returned 
to Mr, Withers, and was with him for six years as as- 
sistant foreman and foreman. In 188;. he went to the 
Hwyer Brothers' Stable, especially to take care of that 
great tllly. Miss Woodford. Two years later, however, 
he was back again at Brookdale, where he had charge of 
all the horses in Mr. Withers' establishment. 

Subsequently Mr. Coleman trained the horses of Mr. 
C. W. Chapin, and was very successful, especially with 
Crocus, who, in her three-year old and four-year old 
forms, won iq laces. After i8q^. he owned and ran the 
horses which Lip to that time he had trained for Mr. 
Chapin. Then, in partnership with Mr. S. C. Conover, 
he had Tinge, Hailstone. Full Sea, Tarentum, Vapor and 
others, who were fairly successful. After dissolving 
partnership with Mr. Conover, Mr. Coleman still contin- 
ued to run Crocus, and with hei- had several other good 
horses. He now has a small, luit good stable. 




JOHN McLEAR 

thew Allen, of the Idiret Stable. Then he started in busi- 
ness for himself, buvinii Illusion from the Belmont Stable. 



337 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Few. if anv. trainers of the present day have had 
greater success than Mr. William Huston. Born in 
Natchez. Miss., in iSbs. Huston was only eleven years 
of age when he joined a stable in New Orleans as ex- 
ercise bov. He was a jockey for six years, riding all 
through the South. His first winning mount was on 
Mascot at New Orleans, a loo to i shot, and he also rode 
Blazes and Moses, winning a four-mile race with the 
latter. 

Since i88^. Mr. Huston has become well known in the 
North. He rode for Azrael & Logan, a Louisiana stable, 
for three years was assistant starter to Mr. James F. 
Caldwell, and since i88q has been engaged in training. 
As a trainer he has been connected with the stables 
of Mr. A. Garson, Mr. George Ryer. Colonel Ruppert. 
and Mr. Edward Corrigan. He is now trainer of the 
stable of Mr. J. W. Colt. Here he has the well-known 
performers. Decapod by Sir Modred : Lady Dainty by 
Darebin: Ben Eder by Fonso: Equerry by Order: Wood 



One cannot f; 
turfmen who, fr 



lil to be impressed with the records of 
om being exercise boys, have ultimately 




^^^ 

^ 




WILLIAM HUSTON 



Pigeon 
Tail by 



by Woodlands; Amus by Ben Himyar, and Flax 
Pontine, as well as several good youngsters. 



CHARLES MILLER 

become owners. Attention has often been called to this 
interesting feature of turf history, but it is impossible to 
dwell too much upon it as illustrating the character of 
the men who have given to the turf much of its present 
importance. Another example of this class of turfmen 
is Mr. Charles Miller, one of the successful trainers of 
this generation. 

Born in New York City in 18^2, Mr, Miller has enjoyed 
the advantages to be derived from association with those 
turfmen who have made New York the metropolis of 
racing. He was exceedingly fortunate in his first en- 
gagement when, as a bov. he entered the stable of the 
Messrs. Leonard W. Jerome and Paul Forbes. He re- 
tained his position in that establishment for two years, 
and then joining the well-known Captain Moore rode the 
horses of the Moore Stable for five years. After a short 
engagement with Major Thomas Doswell, the great Vir- 
ginia turfman, he was then connected for five years with 
Mr. Jeter Walden's stable as foreman. 

With James Lee, he went to the stable of Mr. 
Charles Reed and then started a stable of his own in 
i8qo. His string included many good horses, among 
them being Joe Kelly. In iSg^. he closed out his stable 
and engaged as trainer for Mr. J. F. Ferguson, of Mon- 
mouth County, New Jersey, and, in addition, has also 
trained for Mr. James R. Keene and .Mr. J. O. Donner. 
As a rider, he was identified with such famous horses as 
Stonewall Jackson. Foxhall, Glenelg and Harry Bassett. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



One of the best schools that a young man can have 
who has determined upon a lacing career is in the great 
Hnglish stables. Such an opportunity came to James 
Frayling when he was about twelve years of age and 
was then taken to the establishment of Mr. Meredith 
Brown. In the Brown Stable he had scarcely passed 
into his teens when he had his tlrst mount in a ponv 
race. Afterward he rode on the tlat and schooled and 
rode horses over the jumps. 

In this employment he remained until he was twenty- 
two years of age, when he came to the United States to 
ride for Mr. S. S. Howland. With Mr. Rowland's 
horses he fast achieved reputation as one of the best 
steeplechase riders in the United States. He showed 
Ontario, Rosco. Bird and others at the Madison Square 
Garden and in other jumping contests, and was the first 
man to jump a horse over 6 feet, ten inches, lifting 
Ontario to 7 feet, i inch. He also holds the record for a 
long jump over two hurdles, 4 feet, 2 inches high, and 8 
feet, 7 inches apart, on Rosco. 

Mr. Frayling is now training for Mr. P. S. P. Ran- 
dolph, of Philadelphia, in whose stable are Marsian. 



Among the younger men in the profession, Mr, Peter 
Loftus has brought to the business of training the 





PETER J, LOFTUS 





JAMES FRAYLING 



Knight of the Garter. Manassas, Filament, Inquisitor. 
Cherrv Picker, Rhodvmenia and Eyran. 



inherited taste of all Englishmen for thoroughbied racing. 
He was born in Liverpool in 187;;, and although he left 
home at an early age. he had even before that time felt 
his first interest in racing matters. His appearance in 
this country was in i88b, and he was connected with 
the Fairfax Stable, of which Mr. James Rowe was the 
trainer. Here he exercised for one year, handling such 
horses as Hypasia, Cyclops, Oritlamme and others. 

Beginning in 1888, Mr. Loftus exercised and rode for 
the Messrs. Dwyer Brothers for a period of four years. 
After that he went to the stable of Mr. Frank Taylor, and 
there was successful in winning nearly every welter 
weight race in which he started. In i8qi, he rode for 
Mr. W. H. Timmons; in \8q2. for Mr. Louis Grenner. 
and in iSq^i, for Mr. R. S, Howe. 

Becoming too heavy to ride, Mr, Loftus in 1894 en- 
gaged to train with Mr. McBreen, who had twelve 
horses in his stable, among them Hermania, Malvina G. 
and Christmas. He then bought Stephen J., Rapine, 
Ballard and William McAuliff, all of vyhom, however, he 
afterward sold. He has also broken and driven trotters 
and schooled horses for the Madison Square Horse 
Show, and has trained jumpers for Mr. F. D. Beard. As 
a trainer, he is one of the best of the younger genera- 
tion, and with his excellent experience and enthusiastic 
application to his profession, is looked upon as a man 
with a bright future before him. 



339 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Another of the men of the South who have done so 
much by their labors to maintain the existence of racing 




FRED BURLEW 

in the United States is Mr. Fred Burlew. Not a native 
of the South, for he was born in Cincinnati in 1871, Mr. 
Burlew's connection with racing as a boy was in Texas 
and Missouri, where he became thorougjily imbued with 
the Southern racing spiiit. He was only twelve years 
of age when he entered the Brack Stable at Houston. 
Tex., and remained there some seven months. His 
second engagement was with that celebrated Missourian 
horseman, Dan Honig. His employer was a horseman 
of undoubted calibre, and the boy who cast his lot with 
so proficient a man laid a firm foundation of experience. 
For nine years Mr. Burlew remained with Mr. Honig. 
exercising and riding the horses with which that turf- 
man campaigned. He was also called upon a great deal 
of the time to attend to the care of the animals and to 
prepare them for their battles for honors. His long term 
of service with Mr. Honig enabled him to accumulate a 
little money, and, in association with Mr. T. W. Coulter, 
he bought several fine thoroughbreds, who, under his 
skilful training, won many victories for their ownei's. 
Retiring from ownership for a shoit time, he again 
organized a stable. Among the best horses that he has 
owned have been Miss Belle, Balance. Ferrier, Sir Dixon. 
Buckrene and others. With these he won some four hun- 
dred races on EasteiMi courses. For i8q8 he is engaged 
with Mr. William C. Dalv. having charge of some of the 
piincipal members of that hoi'seman's string. 



Connection with an American stable of such promi- 
nence as that of Mr. Francis Morris in the generation 
gone by is an experience of which any turfman might 
well be proud. The Morris Stable is one of the land- 
marks of American racing, and the horses and men who 
have come fi'om it have plaved impoitant and admirable 
parts in the development of this sport in contemporane- 
ous times. It was in this school th.-it Mr. John Miller 
took his first lesson as an exercise bov in 1871. He was 
then a youngster of thirteen years of age, having been 
born in New York in i8s8. 

After two years' experience with the Morris Stable, 
he entei'ed the stable of Mr. William Midgley, where he 
remained for a year, being engaged principally upon the 
Southern circuit. His liking for the Noi'th, however, 
induced him to return to New York, where he entered 
the stable of Mr. E. V. Snedeker as assistant trainer. In 
that position he labored well for a period of eight 
years. Duiing that time he had an active part in han- 
dling some of the most prominent horses then on the turf, 
among them being Rhadamanthus. Countess, Duchess, 
Girofle, Girofia, Eole, St. Saviour and Virgil. 

In 1 88s, he opened a public training stable, but in 1888 
also took charge of the stable of Mr. W. H. McCarthy, 
of California. In his stable he has had such good horses 
as Priscilla, Berwyn, Persistence, Royal Princess, Annie 
L. and a host of others. He is n(iw training the horses 




JOHN MILLER 



of Mr. F. C. O'Reilly— Kinvarra. 
ling Con and Ineennamara. 



Royal Princess. Whist- 



340 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The younger generation of trainers have, almost with- 
out exception, shown by detlnite worl< tiiat progressive 
ideas can be as successful in this as in any other busi- 
ness pursuit, and that in the art of training there are still 
many new tilings to be learned. Other times, other 
men. and it is the young men who are now coming 
strongly to the front. 

Mr. Edward F. Hughes, who was born in New York 
City in i86q. is a representative of this younger genera- 
tion. He attained to prominence as early as i88q, by 
his riding at county fairs in New York, New Jersey and 
New Hampshire. His riding experience was limited to 
three years, when he engaged in training, his first suc- 
cess as a trainer being with Speculation, who in that 
year won twenty-two races, and in 18^4, thirteen races. 
Other winners that were under Mr. Hughes' care were 
Marshall and Harry Alonzo. 

In i8qs, Mr. Hughes trained the Wolf Hill Stable, win- 
ning several good races, and in i8q6, he trained, among 
other horses, Mr. Jere Dunn's sterling filly. Sunny Slope, 
which won nine out of twelve starts. He is now the 
trainer of the Kensico Stable, having in his hands the 
three-year old bay filly JLida and these two-year olds: 
Camotop. Ragged Sailor. Amorita and Tennis. Camo- 



Although of New Fngland extraction, 
Olney, who has attained to success, both 



Mr. Waldo 
as an owner 






EDWARD F. HUGHES 



top won his maiden race at the Aqueduct Sprint 
Meeting in 1898. 



WALDO OLNEY 

and a trainer, is a native Westerner, having been born in 
186; at Manchester, la. He received a good education, 
and was thus well prepared to profit by the early expe- 
rience that he had in racing. He became attached to the 
establishment of Mr. Pierre Lorillard while he was yet a 
youngster, and remained with that eminent turfman for 
a period of nine years. For one season he rode for Mr. 
Pierre Lorillard. Jr., and was then engaged to train Keno 
and Emeison. 

His success in his first engagements as trainer led to 
his employment by various owners, among his charges 
being Emigrant and three others for Mr. C. Donox'an. 
and Pasha, with several companions, for Messrs. Ross 
& Oyster. Pasha was a horse of merit, whose perform- 
ances rellected credit upon his trainer. Filled with an 
ambition to become an owner. Mr. Olney formed a 
stable, his string including Adolph. Figaro, Duke of 
Bourbon, Ocean. Adonis and others. In 18S8. he won a 
goodly proportion of the events at Clifton. N. J. 

In recent years Mr. Olney has conducted a public train- 
ing stable, and also owns several good animals, among 
them Juno, a speedy filly that came out of Mr. J. R. 
Keene's establishment. Horses belonging to other own- 
ers are constantly under his care, and he gives his atten- 
tion specially to some very promising youngsters. 



341 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



From his infancy Mr. Richard H. Loud, who was born 
near Clarksville, Tenn.. January 2--.. iSO^. has been iden- 
tified with the turf. His father, Mr. John W. Loud, a 
Kentucky gentleman of the old school, was one of the 
best known men in turf circles throughout the United 
States. He will long be remembered as the owner of 
the celebrated Lida Stanhope, who was matched 
against the great filly Thora, winning three miles in s 
minutes. 2S seconds, within one second of the record at 
the present time. 

At an early age Mr. Richard H. Loud became associated 
with his father in the firm of J. W. & R. H. Loud. The 
stable included a number of animals of high degree, 
among them Lida Stanhope, Richard L.. Albert Sidney. 
Ladv Loud and others. The junior member of the firm 
displayed abundant ability as a trainer, and by his skill a 
long list of victories was placed to the credit of the 
stable. Mr. Loud has long been located at Gravesend, 
L. 1. His training stable has sheltered some animals of 
decided interest. It would be difficult to select from the 
long array of performers that have been trained by 
him those who have specially distinguished themselves. 
The list would include the names of such horses as Two 
Bits, Mordotte, Billali, Uncle Sim, Montepool, Hindo- 



Piincipallv identified with the turf of the Pacific Coast, 
Mr. W. M. Muii'v lias been one of the most successful 





W. M. MURRY 



RICHARD H. LOUD 

mere, Japonica, Floral Park, Poor Jonathan. Myrtle L. 
Will Fonso, Antonia, Castinette and Gold Ban. 



of the army of enterprising tuifmen of this generation. 
Like so many others of his associates, he laid the foun- 
dation of his career as an e.xercise boy. For fullv twenty 
years he has been racing and training horses, and his 
name has been identified with some of the best thoiough- 
breds and the greatest I'acing events of the Pacific Coast. 

Near Sacramento. Cal.. Mr. Murrv has a small, but 
complete, breeding establishment. For many years he 
has kept there thirty biood mares, and at the head of the 
stud long stood the e.xcellent stallion. Thiee Cheers. Mr. 
Murry raised the celebrated colt Michael 111., whom he 
sold to Mr. Charles F. Dwver. In 1888, he brought out 
the good two-year old Almont by Three Cheers out of 
Question, in that season Almont won seven races out 
of nine starts. At Saci'amento he traveled three-quarters 
of a mile in i minute, \(yj( seconds. Later in the same 
season he traveled 1 mile in i minute. 42 -'4 seconds, 
winning both the California Annual Stakes and the Night 
Hawk Stakes. 

Duiing Mr. Muitv's twenty years of racing he has won 
five Derbys. Twice he won the Derby in California. 
With Thorne Hill he beat the three-mile record on the 
Pacific Coast, and also beat the 2}(-m\\e record. In 
i8g7, he trained for Mr. Edward Purser, and made his 
first season upon the Eastern track. 



342 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Several good turfmen of this period have come from 
the establishment of Mr. J. De Long, which not so many 





Among the many horsemen whom Canada has con- 
tributed to the turf in this country anJ who have taken 
an enviable position in racing circles, few have been 
more agreeably known than Mr. Edward A. Steeds. Born 
in Toronto, Ont.. March 23, 1864, Mr. Steeds began his 
racing experiences in the establishment of Mr. R. 
Wilson, of Toronto, for whom he rode three years. His 
next engagements were with Mr. Charles Boyle for a 
couple of years, and then with Mr. George Hayden. 
After this he was with Mr. W. R. Babcock for two sea- 
sons, followed by a connection with Mr. William 
Mulkey. of Kansas City, a single season with Mr. J. H. 
Seagram, and two years with Mr. Frank Elliott. Then 
he trained and rode six years for Mr. 1). Higgins. 

This record represents an unusually long and varied 
experience, and Mr. Steeds' reminiscences of famous 
horses and turfmen date back to the initial meeting at 
the Brighton Beach track, where he rode several races. 
His record as a rider is one of many victories. At one 
time or another he rode such performers as Ada Glenn, 
Springfield, Kenyon and Bucksaw. With My Fellow he 
won thirteen straight races, and with Pericles ten races 



WILLIAM VAN KEUREN 

years ago was a good school for the boys with racing 
aspirations. Mr. William Van Keuren, who was born 
in Elmira, N. Y., in 1874, entered the employ of Mr. 
De Long in 1886 and applied himself to the customary 
work of exercising. After that he was engaged with 
other establishments, particularly the Diamond Stable, of 
which Mr. David Johnstone was the owner. His first ex- 
perience as a jockey was with Mr. Johnstone, for whose 
stable he rode all the light-weight races and met with 
fair success. After two years' service with Mr. Johnstone 
he engaged as jockey with Messrs. Kelly & Samuels. 
With this stable he remained for one year, being very 
successful, especially in winning many races upon horses 
that were long shots in the betting. The prominent 
mounts that he had were Edward McGinness. Pliny and 
others. Next he rode for the New York Stable for four 
years. 

When he became too heavy longer to ride he took an 
engagement as assistant trainer, allying himself in that 
capacity to Mr. D. J. Lynch in 1804. For two years he 
handled such horses as Contribution, Mr. Single, Judge 
and a dozen others. A similar position was offered to 
him by Mr. E. C. Bailey, and he was in that gentleman's 
employ until he set up a public training stable. The 
horses that he has recently had include Lucolo and But- 
ler. His work is regarded as reliable and proficient. His 
racing colors are black, red maltese cross, I'ed cap. 





EDWARD A. STEEDS 

in one season. In iSqb, he won many races with Sue 
Kittie. He is now conducting a public stable. 



343 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The great race courses that have existed for more than 
a generation in the vicinity of New Yori< City have had 





MARTIN R. LUCKEY 



an undoubted influence in stimulating interest in racing 
affairs in all the communities thereabout. That many of 
the young men of the metropolis should devote them- 
selves to business pursuits in connection with horseflesh 
seems not only natural, but, in fact, almost inevitable. 
Such has been the history of Mr. Martin R. Luckey, who 
was born in New York in September, 1867. He was 
twenty-one years of age when his first real connection 
with racing began. Previous to that time, however, he 
had made accjuaintance with horses, having for several 
years been the manager of his father's livery stable. 

In 1888 Mr. Luckey associated himself with Mr. P. 
Nagel for the purpose of acquiring a thorough knowledge 
of training methods. After one year he formed a part- 
nership with Mr. William Oliver and had fair success 
with several good horses. When the partnership was 
dissolved, in 1892, Mr. Luckey for a short time placed 
his horses in the hands of Thomas Dolan to train. A 
year later, however, he took entire charge of the stable 
himself and has since handled all the horses that have 
raced under his colors. During that time he has had in 
training such good I'unners as Steve L., Blazeaway, 
Mazie, Kelturno, Motorman and otheis. some of them 
his own property and several belonging to other owners. 
With Motorman he was very successful, bringing that 
horse into condition, so that in a single year he won 
eio-ht races out of eleven starts. 



Few men in the racing world have had a wider or 
more varied experience than Mr. John W. Driscoll, who 
has been .1 horseman from his youth up, and who, since 
turning his attention to training, has been successful 
with both runners and trotters. Mr. Driscoll is a Cana- 
dian, and comes of a racing family, his father being the 
owner of a race track. The son was born at Qriebec, 
Canada, January 21, 1852, and began to ride for his 
lather when only nine years of age. 

On the death of his father he came to the United 
States and was engaged to ride for Mr. R, B. Forbes, of 
Boston, and afterward foi' Mr. M. H. Sanford, where he 
was under William Hay ward. In 1872 he joined a 
stable of trotters and was thus engaged for several years. 
In 1876 he again returned to the running tuif as a trainer 
of thoroughbreds and also rode in many races. In 1883 
he became trainer for Mr. J. H. Shults, with whom he 
remained for a number of years at the Parkville Stock 
Farm. In i8q^ Mr. Driscoll built his own stable on the 
Biooklyn Boulevard and embarked in business as a public 
trainer. 

Among the famous trotters and pacers trained by Mr. 
Diiscoll were: Thistle, 2.14; Isaquena, 2.21 J^ ; Arrow, 
2.\}%\ John D., 2.2}}i\ Parole, Moderator, Tom Barry 
and many other animals that could trot in less than 2.30. 
Mr. Driscoll has never lost his interest in the thorough- 
bred horse. Some of his horses have been very favor- 
ably regarded, among them, Don Bias, Laurete and Net- 
tie D. Laurete is by the famous sire Sensation, and as 




JOHN W. DRISCOLL 



a yearling ran a quarter 01 a mile in 24J4' seconds. Mr. 
DriscoU's racing colors are maroon, blue cap. 



344 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




In the person of Mr. William H. Barrett we have A native of the land of steady habits, Mr. Daniel W. 
another example of a New York boy who has c;rown up Mooney has had a varied experience, but altogether 

with horses. He was born in Hartford, May 26, 1868, 
and when he was a boy of eleven years began exercis- 
ing horses, continuing in that pursuit for about four 
years, in the latter part of the time being engaged in 
riding. Giving up his racing career for a short time, he 
became attached to BarnLim's circus, riding in the hip- 
podrome. That sort of life, however, was not at all to 
his liking, and after two years' experience he made a 
change, coming back to more congenial employment 
connected with the turf His next engagement was as 
jockey with Messrs. Swayne & La Trove, for whom he 
rode one season. That was the end of his career as a 
jockey, however, for the usual fate of flesh beset him. 

Accepting an engagement as assistant trainer with 
Mr. James G. Rowe, he remained with him for about 
five years, and then went with Mi'. Jacob Pincus for one 
year. Then he had charge of the horses of Messrs. 
Easton & Theobald for one season, followed by a two 
years' engagement with Mr. W. H. Rvan, in whose 
stable were Adolph, Carmelite and others. With the 
stable of Mr. W. H. Mahon, to whom he was next at- 
tached, Mr. Mooney had undoubted success, for during 

WILLIAM H. BARRETT ,.1 » ^t ^ u 1 j ^l ^ ^ • 1. i -^ 

the two years that he had that strmg he won for its 
among the turf influences oi the metropolis, and has owner seventy-five races. Mr. Mooney has owned Wal- 
become an accomplished trainer. Mr. Barrett, who was lace G., Pocatello. Raleigh and others. He has also run 
born in New York, May 24, i8bi, now makes his head- 
quarters at Sheepshead Bay. His racing experience 
began in 1875, whea he was engaged in the stable of 
Mr. James Galway as an exercise boy. After three 
years in this connection he started riding, in which he 
was exceedingly successful. His first winning race was 
on Marina. Subsequently he was employed by Mr. 
James G. Rowe as exercise boy and jockey, and while 
holding that position won a number of races. 

Becoming too heavy to ride, he turned his attention to 
training, being offered a position to train the horses of 
Mr. David Baldwin, and he entered the employ of that 
owner, with whom he remained for two years. His 
next step was to open a public stable. It was inevitable 
that he should become an owner, and, accordingly, 
about this time he bought several horses, among them 
being Nellie Van and Kittie Van. His accomplishments 
with these runners was wholly satisfactory, for with 
them he won about fifty races, some of which were of 
considerable value. 

More recently Mr. Barrett has given himself almost en- 
tirely to training again, having a public stable in which 
he has handled not only his own horses but those of 
other owners as well. In 189O, he had charge of the 
horses of Mr. Frank Seaman. Many good animals have 
come under his care. It is his intention that his stable 
shall be largely incieased in the near future. 




DANIEL W. MOONEY 



a public stable, and has had the patronage of owners, 
who have the utmost confidence in his ability. 



345 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Although Mr. John J. Welsh is a native of Ireland, he 
is in every respect an American, since his entire life has 
been passed in this country. He was born December 
28, 1872, and was brought to the United States an infant 
two months old. He was only eleven years of age 
when, in 1883, he began as a boy with the celebrated 
horseman, Mr. Jacob Pincus. Experience in a stable 
with Mr. Pincus at its head was an exceedingly valuable 
school, and the youngster profited very much by it. 
During the latter part of the time he rode a few races 
and was a winner in a fair portion of them. 

It was in 1888 that Welsh felt that he had acquired 
sufficient knowledge of thoroughbreds to be able to do 
business on his own account. Accordingly, he left Mr. 
Pincus and started riding independently, and at once 
achieved sufficient success to amply justifv his confi- 
dence in his own ability. He started in at the Provi- 
dence, R. !.. meeting, and during his early riding, out 
of about 140 mounts he won 35 races. He estimates 
that during his entire riding experience, he rode fully 
2,000 races and won about 360 of them. He has been 
one of the good steeplechase riders since 1892, and in 
that branch of sport has been very successful, winning 
some of the important steeplechase events of the turf. 
His riding weight is 12s pounds and his racing colors 
are lilac green, gold tassel and green cap. Although he 



Born at Gravesend, L, I., July 4, 1868, Mr. George W. 
Meehan has been well known as the rider of many win- 




- .0^ 



JOHN J. WELSH 



has devoted most of his time to riding, he has long held 
a trainer's license, and has some promising horses. 




% 



GEORGE W. MEEHAN 

ning races. His first employer was Larry Hart, in whose 
stable he exercised and rode for three years. Following 
this apprenticeship he became stable jockey for Mr. 
James H. McCormick for two years. Next he engaged 
with Mr. William Lakeland, and he closed his career as 
a jockey in the stable of Mr. William Mason. During 
his time he rode some of the best campaigners. Among 
them were Jim Douglas. Fawn, Crafty, Wonderment, 
Referee and Tattler. In 1886, he won 54 races. In 1887, 
he was successful in 24 out of his qs mounts. 

When nature overtook him he turned his attention to 
training, and was engaged to handle the horses of Mr. 
W. J. Roche, with whose stable he has long been con- 
nected. He has sent to the post such good ones as 
Mendicant, Lady Knight, Sir Knight, Free Lance, Lady 
Mottle and Friendship. Among some of the important 
events that he has won have been the Bay Ridge Handi- 
cap of 1887, and the Iron Pier Handicap, two years in 
succession, in 1884 and i88s. For the season of 1898, 
he is handling the four-year old Free Lance by Cavalier 
out of Lady Lawrence; the three-year old John Morrell 
by The Bard out of Florimel, and the two-year old filly 
Lioness by Daniel out of Lady Alice. He has been as 
successful as a trainer as he was when riding, displaying 
skill in bringing the horses under his charge into good 
condition and keeping them there. His work is keenly 
appreciated by those familiar with it. 



346 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The life of Mr. James J. Brown has been wholly de- 
voted to the turf. Born in New York City, April 26, 




JAMES J. BROWN 

i860, he began riding pony and horse races for Phinens 
T. Barnum in 1873. In this employment he traveled 
throughout the United States and established a reputa- 
tion as a successful and daring rider. This led to his 
being engaged by Messrs. Barr & Co. to exercise horses. 
He remained there till 1876, when he entered the racing 
establishment of the late Mr. William Astor. He re- 
mained with the Astor establishment until 1880. In the 
autumn of that year he transferred his services to the 
Messrs. Dwyer Brothers. He remained with the Dwyer 
Stable until 1884, when he was engaged by Mr. G. B. 
Bryson. 

In 1888, Mr. Brown accepted an engagement to train 
for the Excelsior Stable, and with it again demonstrated 
his skill and experience in attaining the best possible re- 
sults with the horses committed to his care. In 1889. 
Mr. Brown had charge of the stable of Ex-Mayor M. N. 
Nolan, of Albany, N. Y. After this engagement he went 
to the establishment of Messrs. McMahon & Garrison, 
training Eolian, Cyclops, Speedwell, Kempland, Ariel 
and other horses, and in the succeeding year was with 
the Empire Stable, in which Madstone, Tormentor and 
Ed McGinnis received his attention. 

After a year with this stable, Mr. Brown opened a 
public stable, in which he has been successful, training 
many winners. He bought L. B. as a yearling, and the 
colt gives promise of being a consistent racehorse. 



Mr. Philip John Littlelield is one whose career has 
been somewhat different from many of the profes- 
sional trainers of the present day. As it has been nec- 
essary to note again and again, by far the largest pro- 
portion of men engaged in this work have come to it 
through their experience as jockeys. In Mr. Little- 
tield's history, however, there has been no chapter of 
jockey adventures. Having served a long and thorough 
course of instruction and experience in the general 
handling of horses, and having applied himself closely 
to the mastery of the art of training, he came to that 
pursuit thoroughly well equipped. 

Mr. Littlefield was born in New York City in 1868, and 
in 1882 entered the employment of Mr. Lariy Hart and 
commenced by exercising. That work he continued, 
for two years with Mr. Hart, for one vear with Mr. 
William Davis and for one year with Mr. John Camp- 
bell. By this time there was little about the stable 
with which he was not thoroughly familiar. Many op- 
portunities were opened to him to ride, but he never 
accepted, for, as he has said, he had no inclination for 
that pursuit, his whole ambition being in the direc- 
tion of training. With Mr. Samuel Hildreth he began 
his practical training career. In Mr. Hildreth's Stable 
he was assistant trainer for seven years. Thence he 
went to the establishment of Mr. E. |. Baldwin, of Cal- 




PHIUP J. LITTLEFIELD 



ifornia, also as assistant trainer, for one year, and then 
took charge of the horses of Mr. William B. Sink. 



347 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



In the person of Mr. Edward Johnson the turf has an- 
other example to add to an ah'eady lono; list of those who 




EDWARD JOHNSON 

have devoted a lifetime to training. Mr. Johnson began 
his acquaintance with horses at an eaiiy age and has won 
for himself an excellent reputation fur the painstaking 
care that he bestows upon the thorougiibreds who are 
entrusted to him. Beginning his racing experiences in the 
stable ot Mr. John Greyer, of New Orleans, with whom 
he served an apprenticeship of two years, he afterward 
entered the employment of Mr. George Rice, of Nashville. 
Only a short time elapsed, however, before he was en- 
gaged as foreman and assistant trainer for Mr. P. A. Brady, 
of Chicago. 

Mr. Johnson's connection with the stable of Mr. Brady 
lasted foi' some two years, after which he became assist- 
ant trainer in the stable of Mr. Edward Corrigan. From 
Mr. Corrigan he transferred his services to Mi'. E.J. Bald- 
win, the famous Pacific Coast turfman. In the Baldwin 
Stable, with which he remained for two years, he was 
especially successful with such members of his employer's 
string as Volante, Lucky B., Los Angeles, Norfolk and 
others. A three yeais' campaign with Mr. Edward 
Brown, better known as "Brown Dick," followed his 
connection with the Baldwin Stable and added to his 
reputation as a proficient trainer. Upon the termination 
of his contract with Mr. Brown he took charge of the 
stable of Mr. Chauncey Jacobs, of Boston, then entered 
the service of Mr. F. Hadlick and more recently was 
employed as trainer of the stable of Mr. R. N. Ellis, 
owner of one of the large establishments on Long Island. 



Many turfmen who in subsequent years became dis- 
tinguished as jockeys, trainers or owners, started in the 
stable of the first Mr. August Belmont. A list of their 
names would number scores or perhaps hundreds. Of 
this large army a considerable proportion have been 
favorably known by all followers of the race course, and 
no small part of the influence for good that has come out 
of the Belmont establishment has been felt in the work 
done by this class of horsemen. 

Among those schooled under the watchful eye of Mr. 
Belmont, was Mr. Augustus Hanon, who was born in 
New York City, May 12, 1862. A boy of only ten years 
when he joined the stable of Mr. Belmont, he was ad- 
vanced to ride when he was fourteen years old. His 
first winning mount was Medora at Monmouth Park in 
the Julv Stakes, and the following year he won the same 
stakes. For five years he was one of tlie most success- 
ful Belmont jockeys. After he became too heavy to ride 
he still remained with the Belmont Stable as assistant 
trainei' to Mr. Jacob Pincus, and during this part of his 
career handled Jack of Hearts, Carnation, Forester, and 
others of prominence. His connection with the Belmont 
establishment lasted, all told, about eleven years. 

In 1885, Mr. Hanon became trainer for Mr. James 
Shields and in 1887 took the position of second trainer 
in the stable of Mr. M. F. Dwyer. For some years he 




AUGUSTUS HANON 



trained for Mr. Isaac Dahlmann, of the Empire Stable. He 
also trained a public stable and has had his own horses. 



34S 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Particularly conspicuous as one of tiie good jockeys 
durinti; tlie later eiijhties, Mr. Paul Fox has turned his 




From the Pacific Coast has come a small contingent oi 
turfmen, who have been conspicuous by their attach- 
ment to racing affairs. Among these Mr. John J. Sheri- 
dan is particLilarly worthy of attention for his consistent 
adherence to the best traditions of the turf and for the 
general success that has marked his career. Born in 
San Francisco, December 12, 1872, he received a com- 
plete public school and collegiate education. After that 
he was employed for a short time at the Union (^lub, ot 
San Francisco, and in 1S88 made his first racing connection. 

His start in turf life was in the stable of Senator Ceorge 
Hearst, under Mr. Matt Allen, and afterward with Mr. 
Albert Cooper. There he handled such horses as Tour- 
nament, Algernon, Anaconda, Miss Belle, and others, 
who contributed to making famous the colors of the 
Hearst Stable. Many of these champions were ridden 
by Sheridan, as well as trained by him. When Senator 
Hearst died and his stable was dispersed, Mr. Sheridan 
became connected with the Keene Stable, acting some- 
times as agent for the owners. In 1899, he handled 
Peter the Great, Aurelian, Torchbearer and others, in 
1896, he owned Earl Li, a two-year old, and was also en- 
gaged in training for the stable of Parrott & Co., who had 



long and solid experience with horses to the advantage 
of himself and other owners by engaging in training. 
Mr. Fox is a native of Boston, Mass., where he was born 
June 12, 1875. His racing experience began with Mr. 
Robert Forbes, the well known sportsman, biother 
of Mr. W. H. Forbes. For many years he was con- 
nected with the largest sale and livery stable in Boston, 
that of Messrs. Di'aper & Hall. This gave him experi- 
ence with horses that was very valuable. 

Mr. Fox's early career in the saddle was in riding prize 
winners at the Horse Show and pony races at Mystic 
Park, and he won races on such horses as Pacific, John 
L. and others. Leaving the stable of Mr. Forbes, in 
1890, he attached himself to the Empire Stable of Mr. 
Isaac Dahlmann. In 1893, he rode for Colonel Jacob 
Ruppert, Jr., and in 1894, became connected with the 
Dwyer Stable, riding some of the best horses in that 
establishment. He also rode outside mounts for Messrs. 
Ualy, Boyle & Littlefleld, Clason and others. 

Several of the races that Fox won were of a sensational 
character. Of this description were his win on Poor 
Jonathan at 300 to i ; his success with Chattanooga for 
Colonel Ruppert at 100 to i, and his winning on The 
Baroness at looto i. Hisachievements finally won for him 
the appellation of " Long Shot Fox." When he became 
too heavy to ride he engaged in tiaining, to which 
blanch of the racing business he is now devoting himself 




JOHN J. SHERIDAN 



a number of good two-year olds. He is still engaged in 
training, having a well-patronized public stable. 



349 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Born at Hanan-on-the-Main, in 1862, Mr. Henry 
Wehrhahn came to America at an early age and entered 




HENRY WEHRHAHN 

the stable of Henry Bass as exercise boy. He soon be- 
came a protlcient rider and was extremely popular. It 
is, however, as an owner and trainer that Mr. Wehrhahn 
has been well and favorably known to the racing public 
of the present decade. 

During the time the Guttenberg Track was in the 
height of its popularity Mr. Wehrhahn had a number 
of good horses and was very successful with them, win- 
ning many of the largest purses. His experience has 
been such that he has acquired a thorough mastery of 
the art of training, which knowledge is the essential 
qualification of a competent horseman. Recently Mr. 
Wehrhahn has devoted his time principallv to his own 
horses, among them the reliable performer. Princess 
India, a chestnut filly, foaled in i8qs, by Buchanan out 
of Indian Princess. As a two-year old she ran some 
good races, and will, no doubt, place many purses to 
the credit of her owner in the futui'e. 

_ln 1897, Mr. Wehrhahn purchased from Messrs. L. S. 
& W. P. Thompson the brown colt Orthos by Faverdale 
out of Orageuse. and the chestnut filly Sweet Sound by 
Faverdale out of Cadence. These, however, he subse- 
quently sold. Being possessed of ability and devoting 
his entire time to the horses in his stable, we may well 
expect that in the neai' fLiture Mr. Wehrhahn will be 
found among the noted men of his profession. 



When about sixteen years of age Mr. George Chand- 
ler, who is a native of Brooklyn, began his racing career 
by exercising for Mr. J. Cook. Afterward he was with 
Mr. Phil Duffy and Mr. James H. McCormick. but 
gained in weight so rapidly that he took to riding jump- 
ers, and has since been constantly in the saddle in this 
class of races. He has ridden such good jumpers 
as Hercules, Charley Maines. St. Anthony, Sanford and 
others equally famous. In 1802. Mr. Chandler began to 
train, and had Lowlander. Belwood and St. Anthony 
under his care. Since i8c)s. he has been engaged as 
trainer with the Erie Stable of Mr. F. D. Beaid. 

That racing instinct and racing skill run in a tamily is 
a fact that is constantly brought to the attention of any- 
one who examines our turf records, even in the most 
casual way. Seveial such instances have already been 
pointed out upon other pages of this volume, and to 
them must now be added the two Luckey brothers, 
Martin R. and James M. Born in New York City, Decem- 
ber 26, 1809, Mr. James M. Luckey was first engaged with 
the stable of Mr. John Seaman, and remained there for a 
period of two years. During the ensuing three years, he 
was connected with the stable of Mr. George Davis, and 
subsequently with those of Mr. J. Flynn and of other own- 
ers, being engaged in different capacities. This occupied 
him Luitil i8q6, by which time there were few turfmen 
who had a more complete knowledge of the thorough- 
bred or who were more competent in all matters relating 
to racing. In the year last mentioned, Mr. Luckey went 
into business for himself, being engaged with his 
brother, Mr. Martin R. Luckey. Their horses and their 
success have been elsewhere referred to. More recently 
he has had Florence Bealy. George Simons. Curacoa and 




JAMES M. LUCKEY 



Motorman. His racing colors, white, purple sleeves, 
red cap, are likely to be seen often at the fiont. 



350 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Few trainers have passed through many years of expe- 
rience without, sooner or later, meeting with discourag- 
ing conditions and having to combat with propositions 
of the most disheartening charactei'. Some of them 
have succumbed to the difficulties that they were called 
upon to face, while others bv their energy and persistence 
have pursued their work courageously and in the end 
achieved victory where nothing less than defeat seemed 
likely to be their certain fate. The man who can be suc- 
cessful under favoring conditions mav undoubtedly be 
possessed of merit. He who is able to come to the front 
when everything has been against him has something 
more than mere ordinary stamina in him. Mr. Orson J. 
Decker mav be fairly considered as belonging to the lat- 
ter class, since, during many years of his professional 
career, he had almost overwhelming odds to contend 
with owing to the unpromising material which was 
given to him to handle and from which he was expected 
to develop winners. 

Before he came into the thoroughbred field Mr. Decker 
was identilied with trotting horses. He was boi'n in 
Hillsdale, N. Y., in 1840. and until middle life had a 
varied business experience, finally, for four years after 
188^, being employed as cashier in the Astor House, of 
New York City. The fondness for horses that had 
always been with him induced him to buy a number of 
racers, which he entered on the Eastern circuit, among 
them being Red Elm and St. Mark, who were frec^uent 
winners. Red Elm, in particular, ran many creditable 
races. Out of twelve starts that he made in succession 
at one time, he won four and was placed live times. 
coming in third on three occasions, and never being un- 
placed, a record that speaks well for the skilful training 
by Mr. Decker. 

About i8q^, Mr. Decker disposed of his horses and 
engaged to train the stable of Mr. John Healv, who had 
up to this time been successful in his ventures on the 
turf. This was the period of Mr. Decker's discourage- 
ment. The material upon which he had to work did not 
respond to his painstaking efforts, and for a time all his 
energy seemed to be in vain. Mr. Healv tinally decided 
to give up racing so ill was fortune lieating him. and 
accordingly sold his horses to Mr. M. F. Stephenson. 
Mr. Decker continued to train the stable, and success 
finally crowned his untiring efforts, when, in i8qb. his 
charges made reputations for themselves by beating 
some of the best horses that were run on the Eastern 
tracks. Hanwell, a son of Hanover, has been the best 
membei' of the stable, which also has contained Euphe- 
mia L. and other good ones. With Hanwell he won the 
Coney Island Handicap, the same horse being second to 
Hastings in the Toboggan Slide, third in the Harlem 
Stakes and third in the Grass Inaugural, and in 1808, has 
rewarded his trainer by frequently winning. 

351 



For a period that has now extended over fifteen years 
Mr. J. J. Cantwell has been conspicuously identified in 
many important ways with racing interests, especially in 
the vicinity of New York. He was born in Brooklyn 
August I, 1866, and in his youth imbibed a taste for all 
those sporting and athletic indulgences generally that 
have constituted so notable a feature of metropolitan life 
in this closing part of the century. Originally a baseball 
player, and otherwise an interested participant in miscel- 
laneous sporting affairs, Mr. Cantwell naturally drifted 
into racing, and found when he had once entered upon 
that field of activity that he had an inborn penchant for 
it. Thenceforth that engaged all his attention and his 
undivided energies. 

It was in 1880 that he first began to feel more than a 
superficial attraction toward the turf, and soon after that 
time he entered the ranks of racing owners. Wayward 
was the first horse that he owned, and his success with 
that animal, who won many good races for him, was of 
such a satisfactory character that he felt abundantly en- 
couraged to continue in the career that he had marked 
out for himself. Another good horse that he owned was 
Hyacinth, who was successful in substantially adding to 
his bank account and increasing his fame as a turfman. 
It is also one of the agreeable things that he has always 
carried in mind that he was once the owner of Low- 
lander, but whom he sold to Mr. Fred Lowe before that 
son of Lowland Chief won the Suburban in 1899, at long 
odds. 

Another speedy horse that he once owned was Dis- 
count, a brilliant youngster, who passed into the hands 
of Mr. J. W. Rogers and has since won numerous races. 
A striking feature of Mr. Cantwell's career is strongly 
brought out by these references to Lowlander and Dis- 
count. He has always been a large purchaser of year- 
lings, whom he has handled in a manner that has 
brought them into such good form that he has been able 
to dispose of them at excellent prices, and has also had 
the gratification of seeing their subsequent careers fully 
justify the judgment that he had placed in them. As a 
trainei- he has been very successful, and Lowlander and 
Discount are only two examples of the many whom he 
has handled and who have brought credit upon him. 

Recently Mr. Cantwell has owned Beekman, — a son of 
Falconer and Maggie Ward. — who, in 1897, showed 
excellent speed. At the Fall Meeting of the Pimlico 
Driving Club, in November, 1897, Beekman won a five 
furlongs dash in 1 minute, s>^ seconds, beating Princess 
India and Laural Leaf. Mr. Cantwell has also been from 
time to time interested in bookmaking, and in connec- 
tion with his other ventures has recently had a half 
interest in one of the prominent books. He has made 
many friends among his racing intimates who recognize 
his abilities and his sterling personal qualities. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 

Beginning iiis public career as a jockey, Mr. George For nearly twenty-f^ve years Mr. Matthew Feakes, one 

Sigler has not been less distinguished as a trainer. He of the best known trainers of the present day. has been 

is a native of Michigan, having been born in the town of connected with the turf in Hngland and in the United 

Niles, in that State, in 187^. Although comparatively a States. He is one of the best, as he has been one of 

young man, he has had a racing experience that covers the foremost, representatives of the little company of 

some sixteen years and has been full of variety, stirring English hoi'semen who have found the best tield for the 

incidents and praiseworthy accomplishments. exercise of their talents in this country. His services in 

For the first few years after he entered upon turf life the United States have extended over a period only a 
he was engaged in the customary routine of work about little short of twenty years, which has covered one of 
the stable and profited to the fullest extent by his oppoi- the most brilliant eras of the American turf, 
tunities, gaining a sound knowledge of the horses with Mr. Feakes is a native of Cambridge. Hngland, where 
whom he came in contact and the best methods of riding he was born in i8bo, and his early career is. in substance, 
and handling them. When he came to receive his first simply a repetition cjf that of other men who have at- 
mounts he was recognized as a young man of undoubted tained eminence in the profession to which he has de- 
capacity. In 1887, he rode for Mr. James Gray, winning voted himself. Entered as a stable boy in one of the 
on Dare. Jim Grav. Withlow and numerous others, famous English establishments, he sei'ved a long appren- 
Afterward he entered the employ of Mr. James Davis, ticeship there, and, passing through various ranks of 
with whom he was engaged for a period of seven years, employment, became well known as an able trainer 
During that time he rode many of Mr. Davis' horses, before 1880. It was in 1881 that he left his native land 
and was also engaged as foreman of the stable, his pro- and came to the United States. Upon his arrival in this 
ficiency in the latter position being fully demonstrated country, his reputation being well known in turf circles, 
in many successive seasons. His record as a jockey was he readily obtained employment, his first position being 
of a high character. Although he did not ride as fre- that of foreman in the stable of Mr. Pierre Lorillard. He 
quently as some other members of the profession, his retained this connection for some five years, and there 
proportion of winning races out of the number of added to his education as an English trainer a practical 
mounts that he had was of a creditable character. knowledge of thoroughbred training in this country and 

In training, he has been even more successful than he of American racing methods that went far toward laying 

was in riding, and during the last few years he has had the foundations of the great success of his later years. 

the handling of some very good I'unners. The most Ultimately, however. Governor Bowie, of Maryland, 

prominent horses that he has brought to the post have one of the most enthusiastic lovers of the "sport of 

been Golow, Minoco. Katie B.. Governor Sheehan. kings " in that period, and owner of many tine speci- 

Storm King and Captain Kidd. His success with these mens of the thoroughbred race horse, persuaded Mr. 

and other horses that have come under his charge has Feakes to join his staff. In the Bowie Stable he handled 

been of the most decided character and stamped him as Belle d'Or, Vosburg and several other tlrst-class runners, 

a ti'ainer of meilt. During two years his hoi'ses won and met with generally excellent success, his horses 

forty races. Out of this number twenty-tive were cap- being brought to the post in good condition and being 

tured by Minoco, Katie B. and Golow. while in fifteen frequent winners. The connection of Mr. Feakes with 

instances Governor Sheehan. Storm King and (Captain the Bowie Stable ceased onlv with the death of Governor 

Kidd flashed first by the stand at the head of their fields. Bowie and the sale of his horses. 

In late years Mr. Sigler has had in training sevei'al of For a short time Mr. Feakes was emploved with the 
these old campaigneis with whom he has won success, Messis. Burridge Brothers, wheie he handled St. Felix, 
paiticularly Storm King, Governor Sheehan and Captain Coxswain, Tom Watson and others. Since i8q^, he has 
Kidd, and has also had Storm (,)ueen and other good been the trainer of Messrs. B. F. & William P. Clyde, 
ones. For a time he trained for the stable of Mi'. C. H. owners of the Goughacres Stable. There he has had 
Gorman, and has had many two-year olds, in the hand- chai'ge of such noted hoises as Peacemaker. Lustre, Carib 
ling of whom he has shown a great deal of skill and and others. Moie recently the string trained by him has 
_good judgment. His entire cai'eer has been another included the five-year old Liffy by Ballinafad ; the four- 
illustration of the amount of talent and subtile qualitic.i- vear old Cacique by Iroquois; the three-year olds Momen- 
tions that have been called into existence and developed tLim by Sir Modred; Irwin by Executor; Clonsilla by 
by the demands of the turf duiing the present quarter of Enthusiast; Kilt bv Kantaka. and Tyrian bv Tyrant; the 
a century. The situation has created a class of capable two-vear olds. Evident by Executor; Golden Buckle by 
men, who in their line of pursuit are unequaled any- Golden Garter, and Over All by Top Gallant; four 
where in the world, and of these Mi'. Sigler is a two-year old Executor fillies. Evident, Europa, Etona 
notable example. and l-llin. and one Executor colt. Eager. 

352 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Out of Tennessee liave come in:iny of the most famous 
jockeys, trainers and other turfmen. Scarcely second to 
Kentucky has that State been in the prominence which 
its thoroughbred breeding and lacing inteiests have as- 
sumed. Every man and bov in Tennessee must sooner 
or later have some connection, even if remote, with turf 
affairs, and a racing interest seems to be really the natural 
inheritance of every Tennessee born individual. 

Born amid the favorable surioundings which that rac- 
ing State presents, Mr. Howard Williams has had a 
career in every way worthy of his nativity. He is a 
native of Gallatin, the centre of some of the greatest 
bleeding inteiests of the South. His birth occurred 
April :2Q. iSbo. While most boys think that they are 
doing remarkablv well if they become attached to a 
stable by the time they have entered their teens, Mr. 
Williams exceeded them in his vouthful enterprise. He 
was only nine years old when he became an apprentice 
in the stable of A. C. Franklin. For a space of five 
years he remained in the employ of that gentleman, and 
in that time applied himself so closely that when he was 
called upon to join the stable of Mr. George H. Rice as 
jockey few boys could surpass him in knowledge of his 
work. For seven years he rode for Mr. Rice and became 
very successful. Such horses as Wanderer, Volcano. 
Grey Steel, Creedmore, Fairplay, Whisper, Add, Arizona, 
Nevada and many others were guided to victory by him, 
and he won scores of the great stakes, such as the Ala- 
bama Stakes and the Flash Stakes of 1872, the Nashville, 
the Baltimore, the Westchester and the Monmouth Cups 
in 1874. Wanderer won five races out of eight starts, 
four of which were cups; Arizona fifteen out of nineteen 
starts in one season and Nevada seven races out of 
nine starts. Numerous other stakes Mr. Williams placed 
to his credit during his extended and successful career. 
Particularly conspicuous among them were the Savan- 
nah, Ga., Cup in 1874, the Barrie Pot, in Canada, the 
same year, the Louisville St. Leger in 1876, the Dixie 
Stakes and the Louisville Hotel Handicap in 1877, and 
the Cumberland Stakes in 1876. 

After seven years of riding he graduated from the 
saddle and took a position as assistant trainer in the 
stable of Mr. Edward Corrigan. Three years with Mr. 
Corrigan, three years with Mr. W. E. Applegate and a 
short term of service with Messrs. Madden & Strauss, 
were followed by an engagement to be the trainer of 
Mr. W. M. Wallace, when that gentleman was first 
organizing his stable. His success with Mr. Wallace's 
horses has stamped him as one of the clever trainers of 
the present generation. During his career he has handled 
many excellent horses, among them Pleasantry, Fannie 
S., Potentate, Harry Reed, Ella Reed, Applause, McKee, 
Rossetta, Jessie Taral, Lollie Easton, The Commoner, 
The Winner, Orinda and many others. 



As the character, reliability and importance of a stable 
may at all times be judged by the class of men who 
comprise its staff of trainers, riders and other employees, 
so may the standing, stability and honesty of a trainer 
be measured to a considerable extent by the fame of the 
stable that avails itself of his professional services. From 
this point of view the connection of Mr. Frank Kelly 
with the stable of Mr. H. Eugene Leigh at once locates 
him in a high place in the profession. 

Ml'. Kelly is a native of Woodstock, Canada, and was 
born in iSOi. Like most of the men who have been 
connected with the turf as active workers, he may be 
said to have given his entire life to the calling. The 
society of horses has been his chief delight from the time 
that he was first able to understand them. In 1877, 
when he was but fourteen years of age, he had already 
had experience as an exercise boy, having been attached 
to the stable of Mr. Charles Boyle, of Woodstock. For 
four years he maintained his connection with that estab- 
lishment and came out of his apprenticeship thoroughly 
well ec^uipped for the work that was before him. In 
1881, he transferred his services to Mr. Erastus Burgess, 
of Woodstock. No longer was he confined to the tasks 
of an exercise boy, for he was soon promoted to do 
some riding and faithfully executed the trust that was 
placed upon him. 

With the thorough experience that he had now gained 
he felt impressed with the idea that opportunities were 
open before him in a broader field than that in which he 
had up to this time labored. Accordingly in 1883, he 
came to the United States, and, with four horses that he 
had purchased, Glendower, Betty Scott, George Gibbs 
and Traction, rode on all the principal courses of the 
South. One season, however, was all that he then gave 
to personal ownership, and, selling his stable in 1884, he 
accepted an engagement as trainer with Mr. F. E. Sage, 
with whom he remained for four years. His association 
with the stable and the La Belle Stud Farm of Mr. Leigh, 
which began in 1888. and has been uninterrupted down 
to the present time, has been of the most interesting and 
important character. The great campaigners that have 
so frequently carried Mr. Leigh's colors to the front have 
owed no small part of their winning power to the care- 
ful and capable attention that Mr. Kelly has given to 
them in order to bring them to the post in fit condition. 
His charges have, as is well known, been identified with 
many notable events, and by their work have refiected 
credit upon their trainer quite as well as upon their 
owner. Mr. Kelly is an excellent judge of the capacities 
or possibilities of the horses that are placed in his charge, 
and has shown exceptional skill in the application of 
good methods to their treatment. Although he has con- 
sistently and closely applied himself to training, he has 
in later years owned several prominent horses. 



353 



'ME AMERICAN TURF 



From the time he was eleven years of age. Mr. Luke Once a tuilnian. always a turfman, seems to be quite 
l-'iyor, owner and tra.inei'. lias been identified with the as fixed a rule in racing as it is in most other employ- 
turf world. He was born in i85i, near Corepton. Eng- ments to which men devote themselves. When a man 
land, and at the age of eleven years began his duties as has once been inspired by love of the thoi'oughbred and 
exercise bov under the instruction of his father. Mr. John bv an enthusiastic interest in racing, the passion is likely 
Benjamin Pryor. The elder Pryor was born in Virginia to last him for his lifetime. He may make an endeavor 
in i8i3. and died December 26. i8cio. He was one of to bieak away from it from time to time, or business or 
the best known horsemen of his day. and. in 1872. was other demands upon him may make it impeiative for 
engaged as trainer foi' Mr. August Belmont, and it was him to drop from the ranks. Sooner or later, however, 
at this period that his son first entered upon his duties, he is certain to return and take up again the pursuit from 



His services continued there two yeais. when both the 
elder and younger Pryor transferred their allegiance to 
the stable of Mr. Francis Morris. This engagement 
lasted until 1881. and during that time nothing was left 



which he had separated himself, and he becomes as enthu- 
siastic and energetic in following the races as ever before. 
Instances illustrative of this proposition will readily 
occur to every leadei'. Attention need only be called to 



undone that might lend itself to the perfection of the great turfmen who. like Messrs. Belmont, Lorillard, 

young man's education in a turf sense. He became 

proficient in every detail of his profession, and during 

the latter part of the long, profitable and pleasant term 

at the Morris Stable, he was advanced to the position of 

assistant tiainer under his father. 

During this tenure of seven years Mr. Pryor made 
a number of trips to Europe with his father, traveling 
e.xtensivelv in England and France. All of this served 
to sharpen his understanding and widen his knowledge 
of the necessary phases of his calling, and his tuition 
under his fathei' proved most fortunate. 

After closing his engagement with Mr. Moriis. he 
joined his brother. Mr. William Pryor. in a partnership, 
and they became the owners of Saxony. This horse 



Keene and others, come in this category, having now 
and then retired from the tield only to return, more 
active than before. It would be possible to multiply 
these instances many times over, and the subject would 
be an interesting one to pursue would space peimit. The 
fact is. that the thoroughgoing turfman rarely, if ever, 
voluntarily retires from the pleasures of racing, for the 
element of sport in this pursuit gives it a fascination such 
as does not attach to any other business. Only one 
among many of those who have here been classilied in 
this manner is Mr. James Fleming, who for many years 
was prominent, especially upon some of the smaller race 
tracks, and who retired from the field for some length 
of time, but again returned to achieve further honors in 



they trained and entered a number of times. They fi- the occupation that has such an attraction for him. 
nally sold the horse, and soon afterward Mr. Luke Pryor Born in Pennsylvania in i8sq. Mr. Fleming became 

opened a public stable, which he continued until i8qs. identified with the turf by forming, in the first instance, 

Disposing of this enterpirse, he contracted as trainer with in the early nineties, a stable in which were three good 

Mr. Johnson, of the Columbia Stable. It may be noted horses, Captain Spencer, Con Lucy and Drizzle. Addi- 

that the horses trained by Mr. Pryor during his long tions were subsequently made to his string, and, being 



career included some eminent ones, particularly Beck, 
Benedict, Prairie, Saxony, Voltaire, Daisy Woodruff and 
Navigation. The horses, Sa.xony and Atlantic, were 
among the number that he owned. His colors, the 
bright red-spotted jacket and blue cap. have stood for 
victory in many an event, the purses that he has won 
having included a handicap in 1884, at Monmouth Park; 
two other purses on this course, and one with Saxony 
at Brighton Beach in 1886; a big stake at Morris Pai'k in 
i8cT=,, and the two-year old stake with Bon .Ami. 

Mr. Pryoi' has now retiied fiom active participation in 
turt affairs. His comfortable home in Holmdel, N. J., 
is one of the facts in evidence to prove the success that 
he won during his career as a tuifman. Certainly no 
one had greater opportunity than he in an educational 
way, and the use that he made of it was shown in the 
results of his work. His entire career has been an illus- 
tration of the value of thorough training in youth, aiul 
has earned for him the respect of his fellow turfmen. 



an experienced horseman, with some original ideas 
about training, he handled his charges successfully. 
The horses were first entered at the Gloucester track and 
afterward at Washington in the years 1892 and 1893. 
They won many good laces, and from a financial point 
of view made two good seasons for their owner. 

At the end of the season of i8q^, Mr. Fleming sold his 
stable and retired. Within thiee years, however, he 
was back again in the field, having purchased four year- 
lings, who were expensive, fashionably bred ;md very 
promising youngsters. These were Lauia May. a hand- 
some bay filly by Rossington out of Helena by Longfel- 
low: Maid of Richfield out of Bagatelle; Warrington, a 
good-looking two-year old by Fairview out of Gertrude, 
and a Reporter colt out of Mary M. Mr. Fleming during 
both periods of his connection with the turf has been an 
example of the haid-working. unpietentious horsemen 
who have devoted themselves to racing as a matter of 
business, and have found both profit and pleasure therein. 



354 



THE AMERICAN 'I'URI'- 



In suiiif paiti(.ul;irs Ihr Irish turf has i-ivalcd thai of^ its The little suction ot Loiiir Island that lies JList oLilside 

English neighbor and progenitor. Naturallv. racing in of the City of Brooklyn and is popularly known under 

Ireland has never attained to the prominence that it has the names of Gravesend. Brighton. Coney Island and 

in Hngland. for one reason, if for none other, and that is Sheepshead Bay. has within the present generation grown 

the disproportion in wealth between those two important to be a great racing community. In fact, a very consid- 

sections of Great Britain. Nevertheless, the Irish people erable proportion of the social and business interests of 

have always been quite as enthusiastically devoted as the locality, outside of that which is solely identified 

their English brothers to "the sport of kings." They with the summer resort features of the place, has for a 

have maintained a great deal of good racing, have paid long time been e.xclusively concerned with racing affairs, 

considerable attention to breeding, and not a few of The necessary industries that pertain to racing enterprises 

them are well represented year after year upon all the have naturally been attracted thither in large numbers by 

great English courses. In the matter of jockeys and the presence of the great race courses, and the population 

trainers they have succeeded in creating what may be is engaged generally in catering to the needs of those 

almost fairly considered a national racing school. who support the race courses either as active turfmen or 

It is an interesting and a suggestive fact that many of as interested patrons of the race meetings. Undoubtedly 

the greatest jockeys and trainers known to the English a similar condition of affairs exists nowhere else in the 

and American turf for generations past have either been country, and one may feel perfectly sure of speaking 

natives of Ireland oi' of Irish descent. They have taken within bounds when the statement is made that its like 

naturally to the thoroughbred, and with the cleverness is not to be seen anywhere in the world, except perhaps 

that is characteristic of their I'ace, have developed into at the famous English Newmarket. The situation is an 

turfmen of the first class in whichsoever branch of rac- interesting one, and is worth more than the momentary 

ing affairs they have been engaged. Prominent in this consideration that can be given to it here, 

class by reason of his thorough training, his dash and his The influence of the surroundings that attach to the 

general ability, has been Mr, John Kenny, who was born neighborhood of these Long Island tracks is really a mat- 

at Kildare, Ireland, in 1864. According to the custom ter of considerable importance in racing matters. That 

that largely prevails among the people of his native place, it has developed many useful turfmen has already been 

he was, when he expressed a desire to prepare himself pointed out in many instances that have been recorded 

foi' a racing career, apprenticed to Mr, Pat Dorsey. His in this vokime, and it has thus contributed in no small 

master, who was an old trainer, was considered in his measure to the general activity in turf affairs, even out- 



time to be one of the best anywhere in Ireland, With 
Ml'. Dorsey, Kenny remained for five yeais, serving faith- 
fully and advancing in attainments until he finally became 
noted as a daring and successful lider, both on the fiat 
and over hurdles. 

In 1880, Kenny came to the United States to ride 
for Mr. August Belmont in fiat races, but remained here 
only one year. Returning to Ireland, he rode for Loid 
Rushmore, and. in 188^. came back to the United States. 
His first mount in America after his return was on Andy 
Woodward, a 100 to i chance, who won his race, beat- 
ing Revenge and other prominent horses. During the 
succeeding two or three years Kenny rode for sevei'al 
owners, keeping an independent position, but finally 
engaged permanently with Mr, J, P. Dawes, the Cana- 
dian owner, who had a fine string of jumpers. One of 
Kenny's most noteworthy races occurred early in his 
American experiences. The occasion was at a meeting 
in Boston when his mount. Puritan, beat Frank Shaw, a 
noted crack, by a head, over a long course. 

In i8q6. Mr. Kenny became trainer for the Honorable 
William C. Whitney at that gentleman's Long Island 
faim. He, however, tinally decided to race on his account, 
and purchased a ULimber of carefully chosen horses, among 
them Maretti by Macaroon, and several two-year olds. 



side of that particular region. A boy born in Gravesend, 
as was George F. Kelly, who first saw the light of 
day in i8t)g. is almost inevitably destined to a turf career 
unless some unforeseen circumstances arise to turn him 
from the sti'aight and narrow way that opens before 
everv one of his kind and leads directly to the race 
course. Mr. Kelly's father is the proprietor of a hotel 
near the race track. His house has long had a high 
reputation among horsemen, and has been for years the 
headquarters of many turfmen and other patrons of the 
race courses. The elder Mi'. Kelly has had an extensive 
acqLiaintance among frequenters of the races, and his 
establishment is one of the landmarks of Gravesend. 
around which cluster some of the interesting mem- 
ories connected with the American turf. 

Ml". George F. Kelly, after receiving a good public 
school education, leai'ned to lide, and for several years 
had mounts on the horses that his father owned and ran 
from time to time. In i8q6. in the Kelly Stable were 
three horses: one by imported Lauieate and one by 
Kingston, were pronfising animals. Mr. Kelly began 
training in 1897. and, in addition to his own horses, has 
been engaged in training for others. The Kelly stable 
adjoins the Brooklyn Jockey Club track, whereon the 
elder Mr. Kelly's hotel stands. 



.355 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Born at Richmond, Va., in 18^0, the entire life of Mr. 
Albert Cooper has been devoted to riding and training 
race-horses. Fi'om an apprenticeship served in the 
stable of Mr. Calvin Green, and afterward with Colonel 
McDaniel, covering a period of some eighteen years in 
all, Mr. Cooper came to be foreman in the stable of Mr. 
Wyndham Walden, where he remained nearly four 
years, up to the time that he engaged with Mr. Joseph 
Donohue as trainer. After a year's service with that 
gentleman, he resigned to accept a similar position with 
John O'Donnell, but 
subsequently entered 
the employ ot Secre- 
tary J. E. Brewster, of i 
the Washington Park 
course at Chicago. He 
left the service of Mr. j 
Brewster after some 
two and a half years. 
He began to train the 
horses belonging to 
Mr. E. J. Baldwin, bet- 
ter known as ' ' Lucky " 
Baldwin, and with 
whom he remained 
eleven years. 

During his engage- 
ment with Mr. Bald- 
win, Mr. Cooper had 
the satisfaction of see- 
ing many 01 his 
charges returned win- 
ners of numerous valu- 
able racing events, and 
his record availed to 
secure for him a posi- 
tion with Mr. Theo- 
dore Winters, with 
whom he remained 
nearly two years, and 
until he began training 
for Mr. J. B. Haggin. 
The same marked abil- 
ity that had always 
distinguished him was 
further demonstrated 
by his handling of Mr. Haggin's horses, and his services 
■ were sought by and secured by the Messrs. Hough 
Brothers, with whom he remained some two years, 
when Senator George Hearst employed him. When 
Mr. Hearst died, Mr. Cooper bought several horses, and 
continued racing them until the Messrs. Keene made 
him an offer to train their horses, which he accepted, at 
the same time disposing of his own stable. Thence- 




ALBERT COOPER 



forth he gave his attention to the horses placed in his 
charge by the Keenes, and alter two successful years in 
the employ of those gentlemen, he opened a public 
training stable, and has since handled the horses of Mr. 
W. A. Chanler and a number of other owners, besides 
several of his own. 

Mr. Cooper has ridden many noted performers, among 
whom werejulina, Oakland, Blackbird and Lady Bless- 
land, and has trained such stars as Tournament, MoUie 
McCarthy. Clara D., C. H. Todd, Miss Ford, Volante, 

Lucky B., Gano, Fal- 
len Leaf, Aurelian, 
Stephen J., Set Fast, 
Caldron, Rosedale and 
Hyderabad. The last- 
named horse he sold as 
a two-year old to the 
Messrs. Keene for $30,- 
000, having bought him 
as a yearling at the 
Rancho del Paso sale 
for the moderate sum 
of$i7S. The St. Louis 
and the Chicago Der- 
bys, the Belmont and 
the Great Trial Stakes, 
and many others, have 
from time to time been 
won by horses which 
have been prepared 
under the skilful care 
and attention of this 
student of the thor- 
oughbred, and Mr. Coo- 
per is to-day ranked 
among trainers of the 
first class. 

At the present time 
Mr. Cooper is manag- 
ing a public stable, 
where he trains his own 
horses and those be- 
longing to several other 
owners. He has the 
three-year old bay colt 
Murillo by Morello out 
ot Snowdrop, the property of Mr. J. G. Follansbee, and 
the two-year old black colt, Mr. Speaker by Victory out 
of Alabama. He has also in his stable four good ones of 
his own. They are the seven-year old bay horse Aure- 
lian by Sir Modred out of Aurelia; the three-year old 
chestnut colt Ison by Isonomy out of Camilla; the three- 
yeai' old chestnut colt Sculptor by Torso out of Loleta. 
and the three-year old bay tllly Flame 11. 



356 



y 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Mr. Thomas Greene was born at (Charleston, S. C, 
March s, 1859, and when yet a youngster entered the 
stable of Mr. Anthony Hall as an exercise boy. But he 
was ambitious, and, desiring to acquire learning that 
would better fit him for his battle with the world, gave 
up his position and became a student in the public 
schools of Charleston, where he remained five years. 
At the end of this period he engaged with Mr. 
Henry Horres, working with him on and off some 
ten years, when he 
entered the stable of 
Mr. A. J. Cassatt. His 
close application to 
his work soon fitted 
him to assume a posi- 
tion as assistant train- 
er with Mr. W. P. 
Burch. In the em- 
ploy of that gentle- 
man he remained un- 
til some five years 
later, when, at his 
own instance, he left 
to join Mr. Green B. 
Morris. 

Afterward with Mr. 
W. C. Daly, Mr. 
Greene served three 
years, one year each 
at separate times, 
and with R. Bradley 
he served one year. 
During his engage- 
ment with the above- 
named horsemen he 
saved sufficient to 
enable him to buy 
several horses of his 
own, which he en- 
tered in many ot 
the Eastern stakes. 
His success as an 
owner was not ex- 
ceedingly profitable, 
and he thereupon en- 
gaged with the .Messrs. Keene as loreman, to handle their 
horses and to superintend the stable in general. During his 
career Mr. Greene has trained many horses whose names 
are familiar to racegoers, among which may be mentioned : 
Civil Service, Blitzen, Count, Fidelio, Terrifier, Bolero, 
Horoscope, Rhodesia, Royal Rose, Juno, and many 
others. Among some of the victories achieved by his 
charges have been the Oriental Handicap with Fidelio, 
at Sheepshead Bay in 1892, and the same year many ol 




the big stakes at the Sheepshead Bay and the Brooklyn 
race courses, with Prince George and Count, as well as 
the Gaiety Stakes at Morris Park in 1896, with Royal 
Rose. Mr. Greene's experience has been an extended 
one, and it has undoubtedly fitted him to fulfil his pres- 
ent position with entire satisfaction to those who em- 
ploy him. 

Mr. Greene is now engaged with a division of Mr. 
James R. Keene's stable. There he has charge of several 

of Mr. Keene's most 
distinguished per- 
formers, besides a 
good lot of promising 
two-year olds. The 
principal veterans that 
he is looking after 
are the five-year old 
brown horse, Ben 
Brush, the great Su- 
burban winner, by 
Bramble out of Rose- 
ville; the four-year 
old bay mare, Rhode- 
sia, by Wisdom out 
ofFaustine; the four- 
year old bay mare, 
Royal Rose, by Royal 
Hampton out of Belle 
Rose, and the four- 
year old chestnut 
horse, Horoscope, by 
Amphion out of Fair 
Vision. He also has 
these three-year olds : 
the bay colt. Fugle- 
man, by Falsetto out 
of Queenston ; the bay 
filly, Quei^n of Beauty, 
by Tournament out of 
Miss Milly; the bay 
colt. Tickler, by Him- 
yar out of Lizzie; the 
bay colt, Loiterer, by 
Marden out of Lu- 
cille; the brown colt, 
Slasher, by Simon Magus out of Vanduara, and the 
black colt. Game Boy, by Falsetto out of Lucy Wallace. 
His two-year olds are: Choral by Chorister out of 
Royal Gem; Sweet Caporal by Hyderabad out of 
Frugal; Sheik by Hyderabad out of Musical Gem; St. 
Lorenzo bv St. Leonards out of Dart Maiden ; Veracious 
by St. Leonards: Warhead by Tournament; Interferer 
by Meddler: Red Clover by Kallicrates, and Don 
Porfirio by St. Leonards. 



THOMAS GREENE 



357 



THE 



.iiRTCAN TURF 



Mr. Henry Harris was born in New Orleans, La.. 
Mai'ch 7, 18O1, and lias devoted some twenty years 0I 





HENRY HARRIS 

his life to his profession. His first engagement was in 
the stable of Mr. James Davis of Nashville, Tenn.. and 
alter six years of thorough work there he divided his 
time successively between such well-known horsemen 
as Mr. William Bird, Mr. George H. Rice, of Nashville, 
and Mr. Burnham, of Cesadaga, N. Y. After nine 
months' service as trainer on the staff of Mr. J. J. Hyland 
he resigned, and accepted the position as foreman with 
Mr. Frank Midgley, who at that time was the trainer for 
Commodore J. E. Kittson, of Chestnut Hill, Pa. There 
he remained for a period of almost four years. 

By this tim'e his work had attracted the attention of 
many turfmen and he was engaged by Mr. Walton, 
better known as "Plunger Walton." Afterward he 
took charge of Frank Seaman's Strideaway and other 
horses, and during the ensuing three years won many 
races with them. Then he became connected with the 
stable of William M. Barrick, who owned at that time 
Dr. Hasbrouck. For several years Mr. Harris has been 
training the stable of Mr. J. E. McDonald. There he has 
had charge of Albanian. Flax Spinner, Centi'al Trust, 
Mayor Grant, Bettie Gray, Belle of Troy, Storm Cloud, 
A. N. B.. Pickwickian and Red Snapper. He also has 
several horses of his own which have shown good form 
and are likely to prove prolUable to their popular ownei'. 



Born in ]S(i^. in AListin. Tex.. Mr. Robert M. Murray 
received his flist lessons in horsemanship in the stable of 
Mr. Daniel Alexandei', with whom he remained three 
years; during part of this time he rode that gentleman's 
horses in theii- races. Leaving Mr. Alexander he en- 
gaged with General Phillips, with whom he served twelve 
years, and upon severing that connection entered the 
public schools to increase his store of knowledge. After . 
a few years of diligent study he engaged with Mr. T. K. 
Hawkins as an assistant trainer under Mr. Van Haggin 
and lemained there some two years. Subsecjuently he 
engaged with Mr. C. H. Pettingill, and later with Mr. 
George L. Loiillard. After the death of Mr. Lorillard, he 
remained with the widow of his late employer, and was 
put in charge of the Lorillard breeding establishment at 
Eatontown, N. ]., where he had full control, at the same 
time acting as general manager and training the horses. 

Leaving Mi's. Lorillard in the spring of i8q6, he bought 
a few hoises in connection with Mr. S. E. Conover, of 
Red Bank, N. j. These runners were entered under the 
name of R. M. Murray & Co. The list included Tinge, 
Dye, Ed Taylor, Kicksvwiny Ebb Tide, Onijaand Peggy 
Sensation. As a two-year old. Tinge won many races 
and as a three-year old won ten times out of seventeen 
starts. In the spring of \8q6. out of eleven starts he won 
nine races. Dye, out of three starts, won one race at 
Brooklyn, a decidedly easy victory. As a jockey Mur- 
ray rode several well-known stars. Loantaka, Stride- 
away. Sea Drift, Saunterer, Flitawav, Prince George and 




ROBERT M. MURRAY 



many other noted thoroughbieds received their prepara- 
tion under his skilful care. 



35« 



THE AMF.RICAN TURK 



Born in (^hcvcnnc. Wvo., in 1X7^, Mi. Jdhn A. CA.nk 
beij:in with race- hoiscs undui' Captain Mooic. liic liainer 




JOHN A. CLARK 

of Mr. J. B. Haggin's stable. He was then only twelve 
years of age, and remained with that stable, exercising 
and riding, until 1892. During this part of his career he 
rode some of the most important races in which the rep- 
resentatives of Mr. Haggin's stable participated. His 
jiiounts included such good performers as Premium, 
Glendora, Doubt, Eldorado and One Time. His riding 
was altogether in the West and upon the Pacific Coast. 
On Eldorado he won the Montana Cup in 1886. 

When Clark left the employment of Mr. Haggin it was 
to give up riding and to accept an engagement as as- 
sistant trainer with the Messrs. Burridge Brothers. He 
remained with this firm from 1892 until 1894. when he 
joined the staff of Mr. H. Eugene Leigh, taking charge 
of Airtight. G. W. Johnson and California, with whom 
he had fair success. Giving up the employment of 
trainer temporarily, he engaged with Mr. j. J. McCafferty 
as jockey, and rode a few races for him. but soon after 
abandoned riding for good and opened a public training 
stable, having in his charge the horses of Mr. Edward 
Mahonev and Mr. J. F. Nichols, among them being 
Major Nick, May Morning. Brown Prince and others. 
Branching out for himself in 1897. he bought Brown 
Prince, Lightwing, and others, and has since been en- 
gaged in training them. His racing colors are old gold 
and pink jacket and cap. He still remains a good rider, 
and receives many offers to accept engagements, but 
prefers to train and run his own horses. 



1 he history of the turf presents the naiues of so many 
capable horsemen who have begun tlieii' careers at a 
time of life when most boys have little thought for else 
than play that a repetition of this particular fact becomes 
in time almost superfluous. Now and then, however, 
we come across an instance of extreme youthfulness in 
early turf experiences that is specially remarkable. Such 
an example is Mr. John Rogers, who was born in Texas 
in 1862. It is doubtful if any horseman of to-day can 
rival him in precocity, for at the age of six years he 
made his acquaintance with horses. 

His first experience was in exercising for Mr. Van 
Haggin, who maintained a good stable at Austin, Tex. 
In a short time he grew in skill, so that he was trusted 
to ride, and in that capacity was connected with the Van 
Haggin Stable for ten years. During that period his 
mounts included General Phillips, Judge Hancock, 
Thomas McKinney and others. When the time came 
that he was too heavy to ride he engaged as foreman in 
the stable of Mr. John Herkins, and was afterward sim- 
ilarly occupied with Mr. Green B. Morris. His first 
training experience was for Mr. Louis Martin, whose 
stable he handled for eight years, the horses in his 
charge including Orange Blossom. Topsv and Seadrift. 

After leaving Mr. Martin he ti'ained for Judge Newton, 
who owned Monmouth and otheis, and then for a time 
had a small stable of his own. Later, he trained for Mr. 
Thomas Berry, who had Moi'ning Glory and othei' win 
neis. and also for Mi'. William French. More recently 




JOHN ROGERS 



he has trained for Mr. Edward Lewis, and also has in 
training several horses of his own. 



359 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



From 1S74 until 1870, Mr. George W. Jennings was 
connected with the stable of Mr. W. Wyche. tirst as 
exercise boy and afterward as jockey. He was born in 
Sumter. S. C. in i8bo. and consequently was fourteen 
years old when he entered upon his racing career. His 
riding for Mr. Wvche was during the last two years of 
his connection with that owner's stable. Among the 
prominent horses with which he was identified at that 
time were Marv Long. Hatteras and others. His second 
engagement was with Mr. L. A. Hitchcock, with whom 
he remained for four years, riding some of the best 
horses in that gentleman's stable, which included Gal- 
way. Busv Bee. Limestone and others. 

Bringing his career as a jockey to an end on account 
of increasing weight. Mr. Jennings accepted an engage- 
ment as assistant trainer for Mr. Henry Winters, with 
whom he remained for three years, following that by a 
two-years' engagement with Mr. William C. Daly. 
With the Daly string he had success in handling such 
horses as Swift. Jim McGowan, Belle of the North and 
Kitty Clark. With those of the stable that he trained he 
won about eighty races. Leaving the employ of Mr. 
Daly, he opened a stable of his own. and in recent years 
has been training and running for himself. Among the 
horses that have carried his colors have been Captain 
Flaherty, Tonv Foster and Alcinora, with whom he won 
in two years about fifty races. He also ran Plutocrat, 
Belle of Corsica and Belle of Ftance through the West. 



A native of Tennessee, Mr. Arthur Carter was born in 
1876. He has had something more than ten years of 







GEORGE W. JENNINGS 



Mr. Jennings is still active in racing, 
orange, blue sleeves, red sash and cap. 



His colors are 





ARTHUR CARTER 

active racing experience, tlist as a jockey and in later 
times as a trainer. His first employment was with that 
distinguished turfman, Mr. Charles Reed. He learned 
so rapidly that he was permitted to ride in less than four 
months after he had become attached to Mr. Reed's 
Stable. In his first race he finished third in a good field, 
which was the best evidence of his natuial cleverness as 
a jockey. During the year that he remained with Mr. 
Reed he rode many other races and was fairly successful. 
From the Reed Stable, after a year's experience, he was 
engaged as a jockey by Mr. Michael Gorman, for whom 
he rode such horses as Fellowship. Sally O. and others. 
In 1801, Mr. Carter entered the employ of Mr. J. W. 
Smythe, being one of the best jockeys attached to that 
owner's stable. He rode many races, several hundred 
all told, and a considerable number of them successfully. 
On Fenalon alone he won fourteen times. When he be- 
came too heavy to ride he still remained with Mr. Smythe 
as trainei', and has had charge of several horses whose 
names aie well known to the public. Among them have 
been Woodchopper, Fleurette and Fred Lee. His long 
engagement with Mr. Smythe amply testifies to his skill 
as a trainer and to the high esteem in which his services 
are geneially regarded. He is successful in handling all 
kinds of horses, and is capable and conscientious. 



360 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Of KentLicky birth and early experience, Mr. Isaac 
Jolinston developed into a clever jockev. and lias since 




ISAAC JOHNSTON 



become a trainer of established reputation. He was 
born in Lexington, Ky., in May, 1866, and when a bov 
of twelve years went to work in the stable of Mr. David 
Allen, exercising horses. His persistency and his relia- 
bility is shown by the fact that he remained with Mr- 
Allen for seven years. During the last three years of his 
connection with the establishment he acted as jockey, 
riding most of the prominent races in which Mr. Alien 
entered his hoises upon the Southern courses and win- 
ning his fair proportion of them. From the Allen Stable 
he went to that of Messrs. Strain & Co., where Mr. 
James Downey was trainer. 

His year with Messrs. Strain & Co. ended his riding, 
and he became engaged as assistant trainer in the stable 
of S. W. Street, holding that position for four years. 
Then joining the stable staff of Mr. R. McBride, he 
trained some of the best horses of that owner, among 
them being Major Daly and Major Pickett. His success 
was of a notable character, the hoises that came undei 
his hands winning some sixty races. After three years' 
connection with the McBride Stable, he accepted a sim- 
ilar position with Mr. Andrew Thompson, and in 189^ 
he had the horses of Mr. R. V. Boyle. His success with 
these horses was eminently satisfactory, and especially 
with Septuor was his training productive of good results, 
for with that horse he won some eighteen races. In 
the fall of 1897, Mr. Johnston took the horses of Mr. 
John Barrett, among them being Babette and Altoona. 



Mr. Douglas (barter is a Viiginian, having been born in 
Richmond, December s, 1872. When eight years of age 
he began his connection with the turf by being appren- 
ticed to Major T. W. Doswell. After remaining with 
him for live years, Carter went to Nashville, Tenn., to 
exercise horses for Mr. James Williams, under whom he 
served for two years. 'From there he went to the estab- 
lishment of Mr. J. B. Haggin to break yearlings and ride 
valuable stud horses. Shortly the son of his first em- 
ployer, Mr. T. B. Doswell, sent for him to take the place 
of foreman at the Hanover Junction establishment, and 
he accordingly returned Hast. In iSqo, Mr. R. Bradley 
engaged him as foreman, and he spent two years with 
this stable. His ambition had been to become a trainer, 
and as Mr. Bradley was his own trainer the opportunity 
to learn was not neglected. 

He next entered the stable of Mr. William C. Daly, 
taking a subordinate place, but after a year was promoted 
to be foreman, and in a year more reached the point to 
which he had been striving, by being appointed trainer. 
Mr. Carter has now held his position for several years, 
and under the influence of Mr. Daly, who has brought so 
many trainers and jockeys into prominence, has been 
rapidly pushing his way to high rank in his profession. 
Mr. Daly's horses are, to use a technical phrase, " always 
in the money," and this, in the opinion of many observ- 
ers, is largely due to the untiring labor that his trainers 
put into their preparation. In all that work Mr. Carter 
has borne an active part, and has fully demonstrated his 




DOUGLAS CARTER 



fitness as well as his conscientious application to the 
interests of the stable. 



361 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Bom in Bjiliniun' iii :N()2, Mr. Wilson S. Tavloi niacic 
his acqiKiiiitMiuc with lioises wiicii, at llic age of I'lcvcn. 





Kdin at Ausliii. Tcx., ( )cl()iicr !i, 1864. Mi. W-U-r 
l^iattoii oinaiiii'd his Hist laciiiu experience with Mr. 
(jreen B. Morris in 187(1. Pievious to that time he had 
been entjaged I'oi' several yeai's in roundinji up cattle for 
his father. After six or seven months with Mi. Morris, 
he started riding' in the summer of 1877, having several 
winning races in his first season. He remained with 
Mi-. Mollis until 1884, when he became attached to the 
stable of John W. Loud, having Lady Loud, Lida Stan- 
hope, Richard L. .ind others. For a year after 1886, 
he rode for Mr. James McCormick, and then engaged as 
trainer for Mr. John T. Terry and otheis. In i88t), he 
was engaged to train the New York Stable, and a year 
later trained a public stable. 

In i8c)i, he became an owner, his horses including 
Seadrift, Bratton and others: but he maintained this 
stable only a year, when he returned to training, first in 
a public stable and afterward for Mr. J. O'Leary, who 
had Rancocas, Sweetbread, Greenwich, Merriment, Turk 
and otheis. After Mr. O'Leary sold out, Mr. Bratton 
took several of his horses and won with them, and in 
i8q6, had a public stable. He now has in training Athy, 



WILSON S. TAYLOR 

he went to the stable of Mr. Hugh Gaffney as exercising 
boy. In that establishment he remained for tlve years, 
when the passion for riding took possession of him and 
he ran away to bushwhack around the county fairs. 
Within two years he returned to the larger tracks, enter- 
ing the employ of Mr. James Walden as foreman of that 
horsemin's pLiblic stable. With Mr. Walden he re- 
mained three years, leaving him to take charge of several 
colts for Mr. Hiiggins. who, at that time, was training 
for Mr. ALigust Belmont. 

The connection of Mr. Taylor with Mr. Huggins con- 
tinued until 1884, when he entered the stable of Mr. 
George L. Lorillard as assistant trainer. His next en- 
gagement was with the horses of the Auburndale Stable. 
There he handled such horses as Harvard. Jav F. Dee 
and Huntoon. In i88c), Mr. Taylor became attached to 
the stable of Mr. 1). A. Honig, having charge of such 
horses as Censor and Can't Tell. After two vears with 
Mr. Honig he took charge of the stable of a New York 
gentleman, whose establishment was managed by Mr. 
Matthew Sharpe. Here he had the handling of a string 
of good ones. For some time after this he had a pLiblic 
stable, but more recently has been in charge of the 
horses of Mr. William Boyle. His long and varied expe- 
rience, and especially his connection with so many dif- 
ferent stables, has given to him an exceptional facility. 




i 



PETER BRATTON 



Basil, Charlie Ross, The Camera bv Bishop. Lady Bratton 
by Spokane, and Lucius by Tristan. 



362 



Ill' AMERICAN TURl 



Since IhivIuhkI Mr. RiLJijiid (".ollins has been a Ikhsl'- 
man or connected with the turf. He was born at Bards- 




RICHARD COLLINS. 

town. Ky., March i8. i8t)6. and began his racing career 
in iSyq, when he was thirteen years old. by exercising for 
a local owner who had Bill Nelson and other thorough- 
breds. In 1885. he engaged with Mr. Hardy Durham, of 
Louisville, remaining with him for two years, riding 
Levant and other animals. Gaining too rapidly in weight 
and size to remain longei' in the saddle, he gave up rid- 
ing in 188^, and entered the stable of Mr. J. W. Rogers. 
This establishment inckided Blue Wing, who was second 
in the famous Dry Monopole-Blue Wing-Hidalgo Brook- 
lyn Handicap; Stuyvesant and othei' prominent horses. 
Aftei- live years he became, in i8>.)i, foreman for Mr. J. 
J. (Carroll, in whose string were Blue Jeans and Vivid. 
In i8c)4. he went to the stable of Mr. W. M. Barrick. 
and in the autLimn of 181.)^, became its foreman. In this 
capacity he has had charge of Dr. Hasbrouck. Hmin Bev. 
Tom Rogers. Figaro, and others, and in i8i)(i trained 
with success Maurice, a horse with a surpassing lecord. 
Out of (ifty-five starts he was unplaced Init twice, his 
victories including the Toronto (Aip and seveial other 
stake events. The same stable has also inckided other 
horses of merit and reputation. 



In a lifetime spent among horses. Mr. Sanuiel T. 
Booker hasaciiuired by experience the knowledge neces- 
sary to make him proficient in the art of training thor- 
oughbreds. .Since he attained the age of nine his life has 
been spent among horses. Mr. Booker was boiii Janu- 
ary 2t. i8(it, in Alabama, and lust IouikI empldymeiit 
in the stable of Captain William Cottrill at Mobile, Ala., 
with whom he remained six years, during which time 
he exercised the horses belonging to that gentleman and 
acted as second trainer. He next rode for Mr. Hdward 
Beardsley, of Mobile, and then was second trainer 
for Mr. C. H. Pettingill, a position that he lilled until Mr. 
Pettingill's engagement as starter caLised his retirement 
from racing. Mr. J. A. Bennett, of Parkville, L. 1., then 
engaged Booker to train for him. and with that stable 
he has since been identified. 

Among the horses which he has had charge of are such 
well-known ones as Temple. Restraint, Economist. 
Doggett and Roundsman, and a nLimber of others. 
Doggett and Roundsman were the pick of the string, 
and showed themselves to be horses of line calibre, hav- 
ing to their credit such classic events as the Capitol and 
the Bavside Stakes, as well as the victory of Roundsman 
in winning the Washington Handicap in i8q5. Mr. 
Booker's lot as a trainer has often been a trying one. In 
some instances almost a complete resurrection has been 
necessary in oidei' to bring his horses to the post in tit 




SAMUEL T. BOOKER 

condition. All the more from these circumstances 
success has been a full demonstration of his ability. 



lis 



363 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Mr. John White was born at Charleston, S. C, in 
i86s. At the early age of eleven years he began his turf 
career with Major B. G. Bacon, of Georgia, as an exer- 
cise boy, and with that establishment he remained some 
three years. Mr. John Harper was his next employer, 
and he remained with him until the year 1887. when he 
began to buy horses on his own account. His new pur- 
chases were numerously entered throughout the United 
States. Dame Fortune smiled on him from the begin- 
ning, and he continued to buy until his stable sheltered 
some valuable thoroughbreds, all bread winners. Lute 
String, Viniagrette. Cora Tanner, War Like, Bank Cashier 
and Motorman all contributed to the success of his stable. 
War Like in particular winning for him several thousand 
dollars in a race in which he defeated Restraint. Beansey, 
Governor Fifer and some other good ones. Torchlight 
was another, whose race at Jerome Park was sensational. 
Starting in a field of fourteen horses, he defeated his 
opponents inhandy fashion, with odds of =^0 to i against 
him, and thereby won a large sum for his owner. Mr. 
White has not always been so fortunate, but, on the 
whole, his turf careei has been satisfactory than other- 
wise. The reverses that he has met have been such as 
befall all turfmen from time to time, and his successes 
have more than compensated for them. Mr. White 
now has in training his own hoi'se, the three-year old 



Having been employed in the stable of Messrs. Whit- 
taker & Berwick for a single year, Mr. Matthew Farley, 




■■^' ■■■*T^'3«?^'^^W.f*l^ • *-■■ 





JOHN WHITE 

black gelding, Black Dude by Falsetto, 
colors are old gold, blue sleeves, black cap. 



His racing 



364 



MATTHEW EARLEY 

in 1882. joined the staff of Mr. Byron McClelland. He 
was then fifteen years of age, having been born in 
Augusta, Ga., May 27, 1867. With Mr. McClelland he 
remained tlve years, part of that time riding some of the 
best horses in the stable. More rapidly than many boys 
he took on flesh, so that before he had been fully instated 
as a jockey he was too heavy to think of being a rider. 
Leaving the establishment of Mr. McClelland he became 
attached to that of Mr. J. McDonald, where he was as- 
sistant trainer to Mr. Edward Wall. In a short time, 
however, he found it to his advantage to take charge of 
the horses of Mr. W. R. Jones, the string including Bel- 
wood, Satisfied, Babette and others. 

With these runners Mr. Farley had a satisfactory expe- 
rience in i889-'9o-'9i, so much so that the stable was 
enlarged by the addition of Postmaster and Charade. 
The last named was a grand race horse, winning several 
turf prizes, among them the Carleton, the Daisy, the 
Congress Hall and the Tidal Stakes, the Grand Union, 
the White Plains, the Brookdale and the Metropolitan 
Handicaps, and the Double Fvent. After the death of Mr. 
Jones, in 1897, Mr. Farley continued training the horses 
that his former employer left. He also has two horses 
of his own, Parade and Tea-leaf. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Amona: the practical men in the racing world who 
have won their way from a place in the stable to the 
rank of owners thei'e is probably none who is better 
spoken of by all classes of turfmen or whose career has 
been based on a more thorough knowledge of thorough- 
bred horseflesh than Mr. William N. Cloyd. Born at 
Nashville, Tenn., November 6, 1868, he has virtually 
passed his entire life among horses. His school experi- 
ences were limited to a few years, for when a mere boy 
of ten the ruling passion of his life asserted itself and he 
ran away from home and began his racing apprenticeship 
with Mr. Geoge H. Rice, for whom he exercised Glidelia 
and others. He then became connected with the estab- 
lishment of Mr. Albert Cooper, who had Queen of 
Trumps. Faustina and some other speedy animals, and 
after remaining there for two years came East and trained 
Express, Merry Duke and a number of two-year olds for 
Mr. W. P. Ward, with whom he remained for some 
years. His next engagement was with Mr. F. Hadlick. 

In 1884, Mr. Cloyd returned to Mr. Albert Cooper and 
went with him to California as second in charge of Mr_ 
Haggin's stable, to which Cooper had become trainer. 
He had a successful engagement, and returned East with 
some money, which he invested in a horse named 
Ornus, which, when purchased, was a decided cripple. 
Under his care the animal regained form and speed, 
and started in twelve races with Mr. Cloyd's colors, 
being in the money eight times. From that time on 



Among the younger trainers who have played a prom- 
inent part of late years and whose energy has been 




JOHN RAMSEY 




WILLIAM N. CLOYD 



Mr. Cloyd has been an owner, having had some good 
horses in his string, and has handled many winners. 



crowned by success, is Mr. John Ramsey, who was born 
at Nashville, Tenn.. in 1871. Nine years after Mr. Ram- 
sey first saw the light he entered the stable of Mr. George 
H. Rice, of Tennessee, to learn the art of riding. Like 
all beginners, he was first assigned to the work of exer- 
cising the horses in the stable previous to their races. 
He soon acquired a good seat, and showed such inborn 
aptitude that he was permitted to ride quite often during 
his stay with Mr. Rice, which lasted four years. Mr. 
Hardy Durham was his next employer, and after prelim- 
inary work in that stable for a year he was assistant 
foreman for five years, and then resigned to join the 
staff of the Burridge Brothers as assistant trainer. 

After two years had elapsed, so well had his work 
suited his employers, that he was placed in charge of the 
entire stable. Burridge Brothers, however, in their late 
years on the turf were very unfortunate, and the material 
which Ramsey was obliged to work on. while of 
royal blood, met with many accidents which impaired 
their racing qualities. Still, during his experience as a 
trainer he has helped to prepare many stars. He has 
displayed great discretion, and has good qualities that 
tit him for his profession. 



365 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Anolhci' representative of that army of capable turf- 
men who have come out of Kentucky is Mr. Luther Carr. 




LUTHER CARR 

Wiien it is recoided that lie was born in Lexington, in 
the Blue Grass State, nothing fuither need be said to 
indicate the chaiacter of his early associations and to 
show how, almost from necessity, he drifted into the 
turf world. It was in 1884 tliat his racing e.xperience 
began with Mi'. Dudley Allen, with whom he remained 
seven years. Duiing that period lie was engaged in 



A native of the West hidies, Mr. Alexander Heciorhas 
become so thoroughly assimilated with the racing life of 
the United States that he has already become numbered 
among the accomplished trainers of the American turf, 
whose future holds out abundant promise of extended 
usefulness. Trinidad, one of the most beautiful and 
fertile of Great Britain's possessions in the West Indian 
Archipeligo, was his birthplace. Theie he saw the light, 
April 21. 1877. Brought up in his native island home, 
that is not far away from the South American coast and 
that has a decidedly tropical climate, it was a consider- 
able change for him, when, even before he had attained 
the age of eleven, he came to the United States. The 
contrast between his native land and the coLintiy in 
which the lines of his life were in the future to be laid 
was particularly emphasized by the fact that his first 
initiation into the mysteries of racing, which occurred 
soon after he arrived in the United States, coincided with 
the great storm of 1888, which the people of our Atlan- 
tic seaboard will always remember as " the great bliz- 
zard. 

Commencing his racing life at this early age. Hec- 
tor, like all bovs of his class, began by exercising 
horses, succeeding in the course of time to riding, and 
linally, after a few years, becoming a trainer of acknowl- 
edged skill and promise. Although his riding in the tirst 
instance was on the tLit. soon after the beginning of his 
career he developed marked c|ualitications not only for 
this, but for othei' branches of jockeyship. The skill, 
nerve and judgment that he early displayed was mani- 
fested in the difficult and often dangei'ous work of 
piloting jumpers, and he rode many winning races over 
the huidles, as well as on the tlat. Among the owners 
whom Hector has been associated with since he be- 



various capacities and had experience in all kinds of came connected with the turf have been Mr. J. B. Col- 



stable work by which he gained the proficiency that has 
since always characterized his work. In the end he be- 
came assistant trainer in the Allen Stable. When this 
engagement was at an end he was employed for a short 
time by Mr. Patrick Gilroy, and later on became asso- 



lins, Mr. J. l)e Long, Mr. J. E. McDonald, Mr. William 
M. Barrick, Mr. Walter c' Rollins, Mr. John J. McCaf- 
ferty and Mi'. L. Hunt. At present he is eniployed by 
Mr. Benjamin Weil. 

Mr. Hector, in the course of his professional life, has 



elated with Mr. James E. Pepper in the handling of the had experiences with a large variety of animals that are 
horses of that well-known owner. In Mr. Pepper's entitled to rank in the list of noted performers and best 
stable at that time were several good ones, particularly horses of the day. Among them have been such cracks 



the noted rLinner. The Pepper. 

After a two years' experience with Mr. Lee (Christy, 
the well-known Western turfnian. Mr. (^arr had charge 
of Rudolph for Mr. B. J. Johnson, and then was engaged 
with Mr. (Charles Smith, who was best known as the 
owner of Buckwa and several others of distinction. 
More recently Carr has been assistant trainer for Mr. 



as Applegate, Wishard, Helen Nichols, Sirocco, Sir 
Walter. Dr. Hasbrouck, Addie, Lawless, Midgley, 
Farnier, Madrid, Portchester. Kingsbridge and Eric. He 
exercised all the above, and, in addition, has trained 
a nuniber of animals, including Napoleon Bonaparte, 
Atlanta and Newtown Belle. 
Well liked by all turfmen with whom he has been 



Charles H. Hughes, who had charge of the stable of brought into contact, Mr. Hector has an enviable reputa- 
Bromley & Co. In that connection Carr was espe- tion for steadiness and fidelity to the interests committed 
cially assigned to the handling of that admirable cam- to his charge. He has made his home at Gravesend, 
paigner, First Mate. near the Brooklyn Jockey Club track. 

366 



JOCKEYS 



JOCKHYS 



Thosi- In Sii.khn Jackhts Who Ridic riii-. Thoroughbreds to Victory— An Exacting I'roihssion that has 

(^.RiiAT Uanci-rs With Grkat Ri-.wards— Gilpatrick, Laird, Purdy, Crank and Othi-r 

Oi-D-TiMERS— The Smart Young Men ok this Generation. 



■pHH professional jockey is a modern creation. In 
^ the earlier days of the English turf he was 
almost unknown, and public opinion, to a veiv 
large extent, frowned Lipon him. A change has 
come over the situation, however, and for a 
quarter of .i centurv oi' more the chief jockeys in England 
have been regarded as very remarkable individuals. 
They have been petted like favorite prima donnas, and 
have been admitted to the intimate association of tlie 
sporting aristocracy, though that often may be regarded 
as a doubtful compliment and an uncertain advantage. 
They have also reaped rewards from their professional 
services that have rivaled even statesmen or great law- 
yers. It is said that as long ago as 1846 the chief jockey 
of England received more for his skill in horsemanship 
than did Lord Beaconstleld for conducting the Govern- 
ment of Queen Victoria. The chief jockey that season 
rode 6=;7 times and won 207 races, the most successful 
record in turf history down to that time. Fred Archer 
and others of contemporaneous times have surpassed 
that record, however. 

Extravagant rewards for successful work done upon 
the race course have always been bestowed upon the 
English jockeys by their patrons. In 1824, Benjamin 
Swift received nearly five thousand dollars, raised by 
subscription, for his admirable riding of Jerry in the St. 
Leger. Ten years earlier the jockey who won the Derby 
with Hermit received from the owner Sis, 000. One 
admirer gave him what in racing parlance is called "a 
monkey." a sum of money amounting to $2, soo, while 
a third individual gave him $soo. There were numeious 
gifts of less value sent to the hero of the race on this 
occasion, and he is said to have netted over 820,000 b\- 
the single effort: which was about double the amount 
paid to Sir Walter Scott for writing The Lady of the 
Lake. Other riders were less fortunate in receiving 
princely gifts. John Dav. who was a chief jockey in 
his time, won in the same week two classic events. 
The Duke of Grafton, his master, congratulating him 
upon the manner in which he had ridden, gave him the 
munificent sum of .Si 00. This, however, was, on the 
whole, a rather handsome present for those days, when 
a successful jockey, if he was a married man. received 
in addition to his Lisual wages a side of bacon, a bag dI 
potatoes, a half cheese, or a barrel of home brewed ale. 



Riders then were less jockeys than they were grooms. 

Contemporaneous attention bestowed upon the jockey 
by the sporting element of England has been of an 
effusive character, and his rewards have been on a scale 
beside which those of olden times pale in comparison. 
Presents made to him bv the owners of the horses he 
rides and of bettors who have backed him. are frequent 
and vakiable. Gold watches, diamond rings and scarf- 
pins set with rubies, riding horses, dog-carts and yachts, 
suits of clothes, new hats, boxes of cigars and cases of 
champagne are quite common. One noted jockey not 
long since received in two seasons enough cigars to have 
stocked a modest shop, and the same lad received during 
his career, which, though short, was quite brilliant, 
eleven gold watches, seven diamond rings and other 
valuable jewels. Some of the famous English jockeys 
of a generation or more ago were Fordham, Wells. 
Snowden, Grimshaw, Challoner. Flatman, Aldcroft. 
Charlton, Bray. Day and Creswell. and before their day 
there were Chiffney. Buckle. Butler. Marson. Robinson. 
Scott and others who ■' witched the woi'ld with noble 
horsemanship." 

George Fordham is p.iiticularly interesting to Ameri- 
cans as having been the first English jockey to ride suc- 
cessfully American horses on the English turf. He was 
engaged by Mr. Richard Ten Broeck during several years 
of that turfman's English racing. He was a prince of 
light-weight riders and among the greatest English jock- 
eys that ever distinguished themselves on the turf. In 
one year — i8sQ — although he had reached the time when 
he was no longer able to ride below 102 pounds, he won 
no less than i n races and stood at the top of the list of 
winning jockeys. He started in his extraordinary career 
of that year on the Cheese-cake Course and thence trav- 
eled all over England, lieland and Scotland, attending all 
the great meetings of the year and carrying off a large 
proportion of the principal prizes, winning, it is said, for 
his employers nearly $iso,ooo. Of particular interest 
from the American point of view were his winning of 
the Warick Ciip on Mr. Ten Bioeck's .Starke, his winning 
of two out of the four events at Stockton on Umpire, and 
his winning of the Queens Plates at Epsom and New- 
castle, on Prioress. He was a very skilfiil jockev. and 
frequently won on inferior horses as a result of his splen- 
did horsemanship. 



369 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Even more than in En,2;land the jockey has not cut 
much of a figure in connection with American racing 
until within a comparatively short time, it is only dur 
ing the present period that he has come forward to any- 
thing like a conspicuous position, either in numbers, in 
influence or in public consideration. In fact. American 
jockeyism, as a profession, is so largely of modern origin 
that it does not go back much further than the days of 
Hayward, McLaughlin. Garrison and their associates, 
which means the present generation. In the eariier 
period many of the jockeys were Southern negro boys 
who were brought up in the stables and were picked out 
for mounts, more because of their familiarity with their 
master's thoroughbreds than because they had trained to 
the profession. To be sure, they were subjected to the 
regular training process and pi'eparation for riding, but 
their appearances for the most part were confined to 
the horses with which they had an intimate stable 
acquaintance. 

At the same time, we must not forget that professional 
jockeys, even though few in numbei', were known to 
the turf in the first part of the present century and their 
names shine with peculiar distinction. There were the 
Purdys, father and son: the Lairds, father and son: Gil- 
patrick, Littletjeld, Crane and a few others, whom it de- 
lighted the elder generation of turfmen to remember and 
to praise. Among these earlier jockeys Gilpatrick easily 
had first place. The name by which he was profession- 
ally known was a combination of his right name, which 
was Gilbert Watson Patrick. From Gil Patrick it was 
an easy transition to Gilpatrick, which was the racing 
name that he finally went by. Boin in Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y.. in 1817, he lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1872. 
Foi' three generations he v/as intimately associated with 
the American turf, and his recollections extended back to 
its most palmy days. Of the great racing events that 
made the early days of the turf in this country a veritable 
Homeric period, he could tiulv declare, "' all of which 1 
saw and a great part of which 1 was." He began riding 
at an early age, being engaged by the Messrs. Stevens, 
Coster and others, who were the principal supporters of 
the Northern turf. 

Gilpatrick rode in some of the most notable races that 
took place between 18^=, and iSso. and his fame is iden- 
tified with many of the champions of that period. In 
one of the most celebrated races of the thirties, that 
which was contested by Bascombe and Post-boy, the 
North against the South, he rode Post-boy, the loser. 
This was in 1836. Six years later, in another great 
match between the North and South, when Fashion and 
Boston met on the Union Course, Long Island, he rode 
Boston, the Southern horse, and fully distinguished him- 
self, although he failed to win. Fashion on this occasion 
was ridden by Joseph Laird, who rivaled even Gilpatrick 



in skill. At the same meeting, however, three days 
later Gilpatrick achieved success in a race that was 
second only to that between Boston and Fashion, the 
great struggle between Boston and Mariner. On this 
occasion he rode Boston to victory, four-mile heats, win- 
ning the second and third heats in 7 minutes, 46 seconds, 
and 7 minutes, s8>< seconds. Joe Laird rode Mariner, 
and succeeded in winning the first heat in 8 minutes, n 
seconds. The subseciuent proceedings, however, were 
of little interest to him, for Gilpatrick put Boston to the 
front so handsomely that Laird could make no showing 
whatsoever. Another favorite mount of Gilpatrick's 
was Blue Dick, but he attained to his highest distinction 
when, in i8s=>. at New Orleans, he successfully rode 
Lexington in the great match against time for four miles, 
on which occasion he succeeded in breaking the record, 
and gave both himself and his mount an international 
reputation. 

When Mr. Richard Ten Broeck went to England to 
race against the English thoroughbreds in 18^7, he took 
Gilpatrick along with nim. The jockey was not success- 
ful abroad, however, and his riding of Prioress for the 
Goodwood Cup was the occasion of a great deal of dis- 
cussion and of unfavorable criticism. Ttiere were some 
things about that race that were never satisfactorily ex- 
plained, and Gilpatrick returned at once to the United 
States without having any further opportunity on the 
English turf. Regarding this failure with Prioress, he 
always declared that he rode the best that he possibly 
could under the circumstances, declaring that no horse 
on earth could have beaten Monarque, the winner on 
that occasion. As he put it, '• Monarque passed me as 
if 1 had been tied to a post." His subsequent career 
was marred to a considerable extent by his bad habits, 
which had the effect of making him untrustworthy. 
Nevertheless, he was still held in high esteem in certain 
quarters, and was able to secure many good mounts, 
especially in the racing period immediately after the close 
of the war, when he was managing to hold himself 
under control. He I'ode Kentucky and Ruthless to suc- 
cess in the Travers and Sequel Stakes. With Kentucky 
his name stood at the head of the Saratoga Cup winners, 
while with Ruthless it stood at the head of the Belmont 
Stake winners. In 1870, he rode Glenelg for the West- 
chester Cup, and his last mount was on Hippogriffe at 
Brighton Beach. In the latter years of his life he came 
moie and more into disfavor and had comparatively few 
mounts. In his best days there were few jockeys who 
were his superior. 

Contemporary with Gilpatrick. the Lairds, the Purdys 
and others was Gil Crane, who outlived all of his asso- 
ciates, and before he died had the distinction of being 
probably the oldest jockey in the world. His experience 
went back to the days of American Eclipse and Henry. 



THE AMERICAN ILIRF 



Early in life he was attaciied to the stable of Mr. John (",. 
Stevens, for whom he rode O' Kelly, Mary Randolph, 
Medoc and other cracks. But the turf woild resounded 
with his fame when he rode Black Maiia in that phe- 
nomenal twentv-mile race — five four-mile heats — on the 
Long Island Union Course in 18^2, against Trifle and Lady 
Relief. Few more stubborn contests than this have ever 
been recorded in turf history, and Gil Crane won fade- 
less laurels for the physical endurance and the marvelous 
skill in jockeyship which he displayed in bringing the 
mare safely through to the finish at the head of the field 
in the first and fifth heats. After old age had ended his 
caieer he was not a frequenter of the races, althougli to 
the end of his life he preserved all his fondness for it. 
while nothing delighted him more than to talk of 
the days when Colonel Johnson, Colonel Corbin. Com- 
modore Stockton, the Messrs. Stevens, Botts, Bathgate, 
Gibbons and others were in the forefront, and with all 
of whom he was intimately associated. 

Good jockeys began to be more frequent ten years or 
more after the new era of racing set in, immediately fol- 
lowing the Civil War. That brilliant period of racing 
naturally developed strong elements in every department 
of turf affairs. There was a stimulus to breeding, ti'ain- 
ers felt the increased demand upon them, and the jockeys 
could not fail to be influenced by the widespread enthu- 
siasm that was the dominant characteristic of everything 
that then related to racing. The improvement that was 
made from year to year in horsemanship attracted more 
than ordinary attention, and the prediction was freely 
made that it would not be long before the American 
jockeys would succeed in attaining to as high a standard 
as that maintained in England and elewhere. 

Barrett was generally accepted as one of the chief 
jockeys in the seventies, when he wore the cherry, 
black and gold tassel of the Rancocas Stable, and when 
he rode such champions as Parole, Bombast, Zoozoo and 
others. He was so eminently successful, even when he 
had a poor mount, that betting followed him to a very 
exceptional e.xtent. Hughes, a good safe rider, carried 
the blue and oiange of the Westbrooke Stable and chal- 
lenged attention with Barrett. The elder Hayward 
made his American debut and rode himself into promi- 
nence, winning a big reputation for energy and bold- 
ness. William Brown, who went to England with Mr. 
Lorillard to ride Parole and others from the Rancocas 
Stable, was highly trusted. 

After Barrett left the Rancocas Stable Barbee and 
Evans came to that establishment. The former was 
skilful and brilliant, while the latter, with less dash to 
him, could be depended upon for solid, regular woik, 
and did not easily lose his head. Barrett afterward rode 
for the Rhode Island Confederacy, controlled by Mr, W. 
R. Babcock. that ran Ferncliffe, Pawnee, Sioux, Rachel 



and others. Feakes. who had been absent from the turf 
for some time, returned in 1874, and was very success- 
ful, his skill on Molly McCarthy in Chicago fixing him 
in popular favor. 

But Barrett. Hughes. Barbee. Feakes, Hayward, Spill- 
man and others, who for many years had been popular 
favorites, were rapidly becoming heavy weights at the 
time of which we are treating, and the turf had its eyes 
tlxed upon many newcomers, whom it was expected 
would soon supersede the old-timers. Among the 
lighter weights were McLaughlin, he of resolute finish 
and excellent judgment, and Costello, clear-headed and 
well trained, who was a growing rival of McLaughlin- 
Among other light weights then just coming forward 
were Shauer, Purcell, ,Sayres, Halloway, Donohue. Blay- 
lock, Fisher, (,)uantrell, Wolfe and Hennessy, These 
and many others who preceded or were contemporary 
with them have not yet passed out of the recollection of 
turfmen. Now and then we find one who is still in the 
field and doing good work. Most of them, howevei', 
have graduated from the ranks of jockeys and are to-day 
owners or trainers, with only the memory of their riding 
days left with them. Some, indeed, have dropped out 
of sight entiiely into other employments disassociated 
with the turf. A few of them are dead. There was 
William J. Fitzpatrick, better known as ■' Daredevil 
Fitz." who passed away only recently. Bariett (Billy 
Barrett), who died in 188^, after he had made himself 
and the Rancocas Stable famous, has not yet been for- 
gotten. Others there have been who have had their day, 
sometimes short and sometimes long, in this last quarter 
of a century, and whose work added much to the 
brilliancy of racing affairs in their day and time. 

The players on the stage of jockeydom shift frequently 
and rapidly. A single era of the turf sees several gen- 
erations of jockeys come upon the scene, have their short 
day and pass off to make room for their successors. 
Few of the men and boys who are in the saddle in the 
closing five or six years of the century go back more 
than a decade oi' so in their experiences. They have 
taken the places of those to whom reference has already 
been made, and of many others who were also active in 
the days gone by, and shortly they will give way to 
others, many of whom have already come in sight, while 
many are yet to make their first appearance. At no 
previous time in the history of the American turf have 
there been more successful jockeys or a larger number 
of them who are entitled to attention than in the imme- 
diate present. Brief consideration to some of those who 
have been most prominent and who are also still active 
in the work is presented in the ensuing pages. A pe- 
rusal of their careers will sufficiently indicate the char- 
acter of this particular element of tuif life and the very 
impoitant and brilliant part played bv the riders. 



371 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



An interesting study of turf life is presented in the 
ciu-eer of the famous jockey. James F. Sloan. He was 
born August lo, 1873, at Bunker Hill, Ind. His Christian 
name of James has virtually given place in his public life 
to the nickname of his boyhood, " Tod," by which he is 
known far and wide. Removing with his parents to 
Logansport, Ind., he entered the Normal School there at 
an early age and pur- 
sued his studies until 
he was fifteen. He 
was noted as a 
diligent student, and 
attributes no small 
part of the success 
which he has reached 
in his profession to 
his liberal education 
and to the habits of 
reflection and reason- 
ing which his ac- 
q u a i n t a n c e with 
books has induced. 

Horsemanship has, 
however, been the 
only pursuit in which 
Sloan ever engaged. 
His entrance into the 
ranks of riders was 
due to his elder 
brother, who was rid- 
ing for Messrs. Tracey 
and Levy, ofSt. Louis, 
who sent for him and 
proposed that he, too, 
should become a pro- 
fessional rider. The 
idea struck " Tod 
favorably, a n d he 
went to St. Louis 
where he received his 
tust instiuctions. He 
lemained but a short 
time with his brother 
and secured an en- 
gagement in Kansas 
City, going also to 
Colorado, whence he 
returned in the spring of i 



JAMES F. SLOAN 

IN RIDING COSTUME 



and wisely declined. He then rode for a time for Mr. 
Thomas Kiley, and for two years was engaged with 
Mr. J. M. Brown, who afforded him the opportunity for 
rapid advancement in his work. On Mr. Chris Smith's 
Van Buren, he performed the double feat, at the Garfield 
track. Chicago, of riding a dead heat in one race and 
making a new I'ecord in another in one day. Having 

been prudent as well 
as industrious, Sloan 
now became an own- 
er. He purchased 
several horses, among 
t h em Hominy Bill, 
with whom he won 
two races. He also 
made a good invest- 
ment in the shape of 
Ireland, and after win- 
ning several r aces 
with ,this horse sold 
him to Mr. Fred Fos- 
ter, of Dr. Rice fame. 
His next engagement 
as a rider was with 
Messrs. West and Mc- 
Grane. with whom he 
remained till they dis- 
solved, in 1892. He 
then joined Mr. Camp- 
bell at Monmouth 
Park, but another ef- 
ort on the latter's part 
to induce the jock- 
ey to contract with 
him for a term of years 
proved a failure. In 
fact, Sloan had by the 
character of his work 
and confidence which 
he inspired firmly es- 
tablished his reputa- 
tion, and his services 
were in constant de- 
mand by the most 
prominent owners on 
the turf. At this pe- 
/'iod of his life he made 
been excelled. It occurred at 




to take a place. in the stable a record which has never 
of Mr. John Campbell, intheautumn, Mr. Campbell, who the Parkway track, Brooklyn, when, with the exception 
had noticed the lad's remarkable courage, skill and judg- 



ment, called him to New Orleans, and there he received his 
first mount in a race on Lovelace. His success was such 
that Mr. Campbell at once offered to contract for his 
exclusive services for five years, which Sloan promptly 



of the jumping race, he rode every winner on the pro- 
gramme. One striking feature of his riding is that his 
judgment never deserts him at any stage of the race. 
From start to finish he uses headwork, placing his 
mounts in a way to secure every possible advantage. 



Tl 



AMF.RU-AN TURF 



The winters of 1894:1111.1 1895 were passed by Sloan in 
California, where he rode a few races, returning, how- 
ever, on the advent of spring, to the East. During the 
season of 1896 he repeated, and in fact improved upon, 
his former triumphs, and by his performances placed 
himself even higher in the esteem of owners and the rac- 



1897. His appearance there was at first the occasion for 
a great deal of unfavorable comment and his style of rid- 
ing was severely criticised. In the end, however, he 
carried everything before him, showing himself again and 
again superior to the best English jockeys and achieving 
a triumph that was at last freely, even though tardily, 



ing public. His mounts were from among the best acknowledged by his severest critics. Thatepi.sode in his 
horses of the day, while nearly every stable that could do career unquestionably placed him in the front rank of the 



so has availed itself of 
his services. He was 
particularly successful 
with the horses of the 
Fleischmann Stable, and 
during the autumn of 
1896 was partially un- 
der contract to ride for 
Mr. E. J. Baldwin. 
During the season of 

1896, his mounts were 
442 in n u m b e r , of 
which he won 132, or 
about thirty per cent., 
placing his horses an 
equal number of addi- 
tional times. In the 
early part of 1897, he 
rode at Ingleside, Cali- 
fornia, and performed 
another of his phenom- 
enal feats, that of cap- 
turing four races in a 
single day, three of 
them being nose fin- 
ishes. 

During the season of 

1897, Sloan was en- 
gaged by Mr. George 
E. Smith and continued 
on his wonderfully bril- 
liant career. He stood 
near the head of the list 
of winning jockeys of 
the year, and when the 
proportion of his win- 
ning races to his total 
number of mounts is 
considered, none of 
the riders of the year 
approached him. For 1898, Messrs. C. Fleischniann's 
Sons secured first call on his services. One of the 
greatest triumphs of his career, and in many re- 
spects regarded by him with more satisfaction than 
anything else that has ever come to him. was his 
experience in England, whithei' he weiif in the fall of 




JAMES F. SLOAN 

AFTER THE RACES 



greatest jockeys of this 
generation, whether 
English or American. 
Successful as Mr. 
Sloan has been in his 
riding and in his per- 
sonal fortunes, it has 
all been deserved and 
worthily supported by 
the conscientious dis- 
c h a r g e of profes- 
s i o n a 1 engagements 
and a constant adher- 
ence to honorable turf 
methods. In this he 
has set a laudable ex- 
ample to the members 
of his profession. At 
the same time his 
record is a shining ex- 
ample of the certain 
rewards that the turf 
holds forth to men of 
his calibre. 

During the season of 
1898, Sloan has added 
many more notable 
races to his credit. At 
Morris Park he won the 
Fashion Stakes on High 
Degree; the National 
Stallion Stakes on Jean 
Beraud ; the Laureate 
Stakes on Dr. Eichberg; 
the Eclipse Stakes on 
Jean Beraud, and the 
Gaiety Stakes on Orna- 
mental. At Gravcsend 
he won the Expecta- 
tion Stakes on Kingdon 
and the Brooklyn Handicap on Ornament, winning five 
out of the six events on that day; also, at Gravesend. 
won the Spring Special on Hamburg and the Tremont 
Stakes on Jean Beraud. At the Coney Island Jockey 
Club Spring Meeting, on three successive days, he 
carried off three nut of the six races on the card. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Few jockeys of ;iny period have devoted themselves 
more assiduously to their work, or have ridden more 
conscientiously than Fred Taral. Unlike some other 
noted riders, he has not branched into side lines, but 
has steadfastly adhered to his one chosen pursuit. With 
mounts numbering fully 5,000, and with more than 
1,000 winning races to his credit during his brilliant 
career, he has, as can be readily understood, found little 
leisure for thought of anything outside of his professional 
work. This eminent jockey was born in Peoria. 111., in 
18O7. His lather was 
proprietor of a hotel and 
livery stable, and the 
boy thus had opportuni- 
ties which he fully im- 
proved to acquire a good 
knowledge of horses. At 
the same time he secured 
a thorough education, 
but when he was about 
fifteen years of age was 
attacked by the spirit of 
adventure and ran away 
from home. 

His fii'st experience in 
independent life was in 
riding quarter-races 
among the cowboys of 
the Indian Territory, but 
his cleverness so fully 
displayed itself that Mr. 
Lew Elmore took him 
to the Washington Park 
track, at Chicago, wheie 
he had his first thor- 
oughbred mount on Mr. 
Elmoie's Loupe, in this 
first race he was a win- 
ner, and his perform- 
ances were at once of 
such a notable character 
that his fame spread 
throughout the turf 
world. In 1884 and in 

1885, he continued in Chicago, riding for Mr. McGinty, 
a prominent hoiseman of the Garden City, The follow- 
ing season he rode for Mr. D. A. Honig, and in 1887. 
for the Messrs. Labold Brothers. While exercising Linda 
Payne, in the spruig of 1S87, he fractured his arm and 
for six months or more was laid up. Then in Chicago 
he returned to the saddle, and with his arm still in band- 
age rode thirty winning races for the Labold Stable in 
one month. He was not able to ride again until the 
latter part of 1889. when he again engaged with the La- 




bold Brothers. In the same year he joined the Bever- 
wyck Stable under the ownership of Messrs. Campbell 
& Nolan, and subsequently rode for Messrs. Walcott & 
Campbell. 

From this point his reputation began to be interna- 
tional, and he has ridden some of the most famous win- 
ning races of modern times. To record all the notable 
events that stand to his ci'edit would require many 
pages. On Cassius he was second in Salvator's Subur- 
ban, and in 1893, won the Brooklyn Handicap with 

Diablo. Late in 1893, 
he engaged with the 
Messrs. Keene, forwhom 
he rode Domino in the 
great races of that turf 
wonder. The following 
year, being still with the 
Keene Stable, he won 
three handicaps — the 
Brooklyn, the SLiburban 
and the Metropolitan, a 
feat never equaled by any 
jockey in one season. 
He remained with the 
Keene Stable until 1890, 
when he signed with 
Mr. Marcus Daly and 
still continued on his 
\ictorious career. In 
that year, for the third 
time, he won the Brook- 
lyn Handicap, piloting 
Sir Walter to victory, as 
he had Diablo in 1893 
and Dr. Rice in 1894. 

Recently Messrs. 
Bromley & Co. have had 
first call upon Taral's 
services, and he has also 
ridden for Mr. Marcus 
Daly and other owners. 
During all his turf ex- 
perience he has seldom 
been unplaced in any of 
the big events, an exception being when he rode 
Pessara, who broke down in the Suburban of 1893. He 
must be considered one 01 the greatest jockeys of this 
period. Not only is he a popular favorite, but he also 
enjoys the respect and confidence, as well as the ad- 
miration, of his professional associates. He is wholly 
reliable in his work and thoroughly understands the 
science of jockeyship. Industry, thrilt and temperance 
have made him comfortably well off. He has a pleasant 
home and his domestic life is one of his greatest delights. 



FRED TARAL 



374 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



An international reputation is an object that is eagerly 
soLigiit for by eveiv rider, and when once gained, is as 
faithfully guarded by him as it is earnestly coveted by 
his rivals. Few American jockeys have ever succeeded 
in adding this peculiar distinction to their other glories. 
In this small class stands William Sims, who, although 
still a young man, has won honors on the turf both in 
the United States and in Hurope that have given him 



Domino. Greater honors were also in store for him, 
for he was engaged by Mr. Richard Croker and Mr. 
Michael F. Dwyer to accompany their stables to Eng- 
land to ride in that country. Upon the Hnglish turf he 
achieved a triumph never before accomplished by an 
American jockey. He enjoys the particular distinction 
of having been the first native American rider who ever 
won an event on an Hnglish racecourse with an Ameri- 



title to rank as one of the greatest jockeys of the pres- can horse whose owner, trainer and complete outfit were 
ent age. Born in Augusta, Ga., January ift, 1870, this American. He remained in Hngland four months, and 



clever rider, like the ma- 
jority of Southern boys, 
manifested an early lik- 
ing for horses, so that it 
may be said that turf life 
is really second nature 
to him. After some pre- 
liminary association 
with horses he became 
attached to the stable of 
Mr. C. H. Pettingill, 
with whom he came 
East and remained some 
two years. 

The preliminary work 
that he went through 
was of such a character 
as to give him a sound 
knowledge of the pri- 
mary details of his call- 
ing, and when the op- 
portunity came to him 
to mount Saluda, the 
first horse that he ever 
rode, he was in perfect 
trim and admirably per- 
formed his duties. In 
1888, he accepted an en- 
gagement with the Hon- 
orable William L. Scott, 
for whom he rode in 
many victorious events, 

this engagement lasting 

two years. The year 

189 1, he gave up to open 

dates, his services being called for by such owners as 
Messss. Walter Jennings, Andrew Thompson. P. J. 
Dwyer and the Labold Brothers. For one season in 

1892, he signed with Mr. P. J. Dwyer, and afterward did 
excellent work for a single season with Mr. Pierre Loril- 
lard. Sims' great success came to him in 181)4 and i89t. 
His riding had already made him distinguished, and in 
1894, he was prominent in many brilliant events, includ- 
ing a mount on Dobbins in the famous match with 




WILLIAM SIMS 



while there won some 
good races. He received 
great commendation for 
his clever work, and his 
importance as a jockey 
immediately rose in the 
estimation of turfmen, 
for it was more clearly 
shown than ever before 
that he was possessed 
of sound judgment, ex- 
cellent foresight and 
undaunted courage. 

Many offers bidding 
for his services promptly 
came to him from both 
English and American 
owners, but he returned 
to America, and was 
welcomed as one of the 
turf heroes of the day. 
Mr. Michael F. Dwyer 
recognized more than 
ever before the value ot 
his services, and re- 
tained him in connec- 
tion with his stable. At 
the same time, however, 
he reserved for himself 
the privilege of riding 
for other owners, and 
therefore his name has 
been connected with 
that of many other 
stables. Recently h e 
has done a great deal oi riding for Mr. August Belmont, 
and has also had mounts from Messrs. John E. Madden. 
James R. Keene, M. F. Stephenson and others. Sims is 
a steady, reliable and conservative jockey, and has to his 
credit the winning of some of the closest margin races 
on recoid. His superior skill is likely to be demon- 
strated many years in the future as it has been in the past. 
He has many followers, and the opinion is firmly fixed 
that he will rank as one of America's greatest jockeys. 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



It is no ex.'iggei'ation to say that Edward H. Gar- 
rison liad in liis day as wide a national reputation as 
any one individual connected with racing in the United 
States. None of his profession ever enjoyed a greatei' 
popularity with the racing public here, and his record 
can only be contrasted with those of the greatest jock- 
eys who have graced the English turf. His appearance 
in the saddle was almost always certain to produce a 
sensation among the spectators at any of our great tracks, 
while the expression, "a Garrison finish," which passed 
into general speech throughout the land, was a tribute 
to one of the most 
marked features of his 
style as a rider. 

Edward Henry Gar- 
rison, or to recall the 
title by which he is 
known far and wide to 
the racing community, 
"Snapper," was born in 
New Haven, Conn., Feb- 
ruary 9, 1868. He was 
educated at the public 
schools, but from his 
earliest days horses 
seemed to possess an 
overpowering attraction 
for him. Being em- 
ployed in a blacksmith 
shop when a mere child, 
he was able to gratify 
this passion by riding 
horses to and fro, but 
his real experience with 
horseflesh began in 1880, 
when he was taken in 
charge by " Father Bill" 
Daly, who instructed him 
in the art in which he 
was to excel. It was in 
Mr. Daly's Stable, too, 
that in some mysterious 
way his famous sobri- 
quet "Snapper" was 
originally introduced. 
^ His rise to fame as a knight of the pigskin was rapid. 
It would be impossible to give in detail either his 
mounts, his victories or the owners for whom he has 
ridden. As to the latter it may be briefly stated that 
after spending three years with Mr. Daly, he rode for 
Mr. H. O. Barnard in 1884, and in the succeeding year 
for Captain Samuel S. Brown. In 1886, he was with the 
Honorable William I,. Scott, of Erie, but in 1887 paid 
most of his attention to his own horses, which, ainontr 



EDWARD H. GARRISON 



Others, included Eolian, Cyclops and Speedwell. An 
engagement with Mr. J. B, Haggin was made in 1888, 
and in i88g he rode for the Honorable August Belmont. 
Mr. Haggin again secui'ed his services in i8qo and i8qi, 
and Mr. Marcus Daly enjoyed them in 1892-94.' In 
1894, his salary was the highest ever received by an 
American jockey, aggregating, as it did. $23,500. Three 
of the most prominent owners shared his services, Mr. 
Daly having the first, Mr. Belmont the second, and Dr. 
Gideon Lee Knapp the third call upon him. He rode in 
189s for Colonel Ruppert, and in the season of 1896 de- 
lighted his old-time 'ad- 
mirers by a notable vic- 
tory with Ornament, in 
which all the qualities 
of that riding which won 
him fame were still ap- 
parent. Indeed, at all 
times where weights per- 
mitted, he could have the 
pick of the best mounts. 
It is interesting to 
know that Garrison con- 
siders Tammany the 
greatest horse among 
his innumerable mounts, 
while Montana's Subur- 
ban Handicap, in 1892, 
was, in his opinion, the 
most remarkable win- 
ning race in which he 
ever rode. Personally 
popular, alike with his 
associates, with the offi- 
cials of the tracks and 
with owners, he fully 
enjoyed the confidence 
of the racing public, 
whose enthusiasm he 
never failed to arouse by 
his perfomTance in the 
saddle, '^he success 
which Garrison enjoyed 
was due in the first place 
to a natural aptitude for 
the profession. At the same tiine, he possessed all the 
other qualifications necessary in a successful jockey, in- 
cluding confidence in himself, good judgment and an 
instinctive knowledge of horses, which was strengthened 
by years of close application and studv of the subject. 
His final retirement from an active participation in riding 
has never ceased to be regretted by thousands of fre- 
quenters of the race track who had learned to admire 
his brilliant performances./ 




376 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



To achieve success in the saddle a jockey must be 
possessed of many sterling qualities. A complete ac- 
quaintance with his work and an accurate knowledge of 
thoroughbreds are not the only requirements. There is 
a personal quality in the problem that cannot be over- 
looked. Many temptations lie in his way, temptations 
that unless he be an individual of strong character are 
very likely to prove his ruin. Dissipations that too 
often result from sociability and from the popularity that 
attaches to every successful rider may in the end be the 
baneofhisexistence, and an absence'of integrity will also 
surely undermine his career. If a jockey expects to be 
in the first class, he must certainly keep himself in per- 
fect condition, physically, 
and be recognized as 
straightforward and reli- 
able, professionally. Add 
these qualifications to the 
technical skill that he must 
possess and he may fairly 
expect that both fame and 
handsome financial returns 
shall be his reward. 

Among those jockeys of 
the present who, by strict 
attention to these princi- 
ples, have fairly e a r n e d 
the distinction of being in 
the first class, Harry Lewis, 
who has had many years of 
experience, is probably as 
good a rider as ever had a 
" leg up" upon any course. 
He is a native of England. 
having been born in Glou- 
cestershire in i86q, but his 
entire life has been passed 
in the United States. When 
he had attained the age of 
thirteen, he yielded to the 
passion for horses and en- 
tered the stable of Mr. 
James Jennings at Sheeps- 

head Bay as an exercise boy. After one year, he went to 
Kentucky, and became attached to the stable of Mr. 
John Ray, of Lexington, with whom he served for a 
single season. A short period of employment with Mr. 
P. H. Duffy followed, and then a year in the stable of 
that prince of turfmen, Mr. James R. Keene, and a year 
with the Messrs. Dwyer Brothers. 

By this time, the young man had perfected himself so 
well in his work that he was recognized as being pos- 
sessed of all the best qualities necessary to the making 
of a good jockey. Mr. R. Bradley, best known perhaps 



t' 



as "Virginia" Bradley, gave him his first mount on 
King B. He easily proved himself capable of riding with 
the best boys of the time, and as often as opportunity 
presented itself, his employer continued to allow him to 
ride. Judge Hlliott then secured first call on Lewis' serv- 
ices, but during the two years that he rode lor that 
owner he had many outside mounts. At the expiration 
of his services with the Elliott Stable, Lewis made 
no regular engagement, but rode whatever suitable 
mounts offered themselves. He was successful in car- 
rying many horses to victory, and his reputation as a 
first-class rider was steadily on the increase. His serv- 
ices were then sought by Mr. W. H. Timmons, fop 

whom he rode for two 
seasons. Then desiring to 
work for himself, he bought 
Prince Albert, whom he 
trained and rode with very 
fair success. Not conten- 
ted, however, with this 
somewhat circumscribed 
field of operations, he 
signed with Mr. H. Sim- 
mons, of Lousville, Ky.. 
but remained with that 
stable for a short time only, 
when he was engaged by 
Mr. P. McGlade, for whom 
he rode several good 
horses at the Gloucester, 
N. J., race course. 

During his career in the 
saddle he has ridden the 
winner in many of the im- 
portant stakes. He rode 
,^1^, ,^ for Mr. J. E. Seagram in 

^3|^ ■ / 1896, and again in 1897, 

jtt^ and in those two seasons 

added materially to his 
winning mounts. He cai- 
ried off the Wayne Hotel 
Stakes and the Cadillac 
Hotel Stakes in 1895, and 
won the Queen's Plate at Toronto two years in succes- 
sion, on Mr. Seagram's Millbrook in 1896, and upon the 
same owner's Fernandine in 1897. More recently, Lewis 
has been engaged with Mi. James McLaughlin, and has 
also ridden for other owners, including Messrs. M. F. 
Dwyer, J. J. Harrison and William C. Daly. He is still 
able to ride at medium weight and retains his good 
form. He has an excellent record as a fair and square 
rider. Many turfmen recall numerous terrific finishes in 
which he has successfully paiticipated, while other good 
woik fiom him is confidently looked for in the future. 




HARRY LEWIS 



377 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Some boys have devoted years to apprenticeship before 
they have attained sufficient knowledge to enable them 
to ride. Others seem to have an intuitive sense of 
jockeyship witliout long preliminary training, it is not 
often, however, that one is able to enter the profession 
with practically no familiarity with horses. Such 
instances, however, we run across now and then, but 
rarely, if ever, has there been a more striking example 
of this class than John Lamly. To what is commonly 
denominated an apprenticeship, he really devoted two 
months of time. For eight weeks he was an exercise 
boy and then graduated to the saddle. The success 
that he has achieved as a jockey seems even more 
remarkable when we thus consider the circumstances 
under which he entered upon his career. It was some- 
thing to his advantage, however, that he came ot a family 
of crack riders, and, Lindoubt- 
edly, the aptitude for racing 
was born in him. He is a 
native of Babylon, L. I., having 
been born in 1871. As a 
youngster of only twelve years 
of age, he entered the stable of 
the Honorable August B e 1- 
mont, and was put astride of a 
thoroughbred for the first time. 
It was there that he had his 
two months' service as an ex- 
ercise boy, preliminary to his 
promotion to the position of 
rider. That was in 1883, but 
his turf career was not contin- 
uous from that date. After a 
time he gave up stable work, 
and, returning home, attended 
school, applying himself closely 
to his studies for the next four 
years. But the love for horses 
and the turf was inherent 
in him, and finally he left 

home again and became attached to the stable of Mr. 
William C. Daly. In the service of Mr. Daly he was 
engaged somewhat in exercising, but the greater part of 
the time saw him riding. For five years he remained 
with the Daly Stable and gained a wide and valuable 
experience. He had mounts upon all the principal 
courses of the country, and soon came to have a great 
deal of public recognition for his admirable performances. 

Even before the public came to a clear appreciation of 
his cleverness, his work attracted the favorable notice of 
Mr. M. F. Dwyer, who gave him a year's engagement. 
After his splendid service there, he transferred his alle- 
giance to Colonel Jacob Ruppert, Jr., for whom he rode 
two years, winning many notable events. In 1895, he 




JOHN LAMLY 



changed to the stable of the Messrs. Keene, and wear- 
ing the famous white and blue-spotted jacket and cap, 
was for several seasons the centre of attraction in 
many interesting events. Those who saw his perform- 
ances upon such cracks as Kingston, Banquet, Long- 
street, Yorkville Belle, Dobbins, Raceland, Civil Service, 
Counter Tenor, Don Alonzo, Potomac and many others, 
have had an understanding of brilliant, serviceable riding. 
His victories, in number and in character, during the 
time that he has been riding, will compare favorably 
with those of any other jockey, and some of the richest 
stakes and purses have been pulled off by him. On Mr. 
Richard Crokei^'s Prince George he won the Toboggan 
Slide Handicap, at Morris Park, in \8qy. on Mr. M. F. 
Dwyer's Raceland he won the Hiidson River Handicap, 
and with Major Donio won nine out of ten consecutive 

starts. With Civil Service he 
won the Scramble Stakes in 
i8qi, and again in 1892; the 
Breckenridge Stakes, in i8qi, 
on Major Domo; the Expecta- 
tion Stakes, in 189^, on 
Chatham, and the United 
States Hotel Stakes, in 1894, 
on Peacemaker. His Metropol- 
itan Handicap, with Mr. 
Keene's Voter, in 1897, 
when he led by the post such 
speedy ones as The Winner, 
Casseopia and others, over the 
Withers Mile in i minute, 41 J^ 
seconds, was only one of the 
many brilliant achievements 
that have distinguished his 
long and eventful career. 

in the fall of 1897, Lamly 
was principally engaged with 
Mr. Marcus Daly, riding on the 
Montana circuit, and was lit- 
tle, if any, seen on the Eastern 
courses. More recently he has been under engagement 
to Mr. M. F. Dwyer, his old employer of several years 
ago, and has also occasionally ridden for other stables, 
when Mr. Dwyer has not had need of his services. At 
the Spring Meeting, at Morris Park, in 1898, he won the 
Bouquet Stakes on Kingdon. He is a thoroughly good 
jockey, who has worked long, persistently and honestly, 
and has attained to the position that he now holds 
through his undoubted merit. He is held in high esteem 
by the public and is respected and trusted by those 
owners who have had occasion to avail themselves of 
his clever talent. Racing is made more interesting to 
the public and of more moment to owners by reason of 
the service of such jokeys as Lamly. 



■w^' 



378 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



That intelligence and education count foi' much toward 
success as a jockey is demonstrated in repeated instances. 
It is no easy task to guide a horse safely through a held 
of struggling rivals. To accomplish this requires some- 
thing more than mere courage and physical strength. 
The jockey who hopes to be successful must not only 
have made a particular study of his profession and have 
acquired a complete knowledge of the thoroughbred, but 
he must also be master of himself and a good judge of 
other men. These qualifications call for more than 
ordinary intelligence. In the broadest sense a good 
jockey must be a great general, with all the masterful 
power of brain and hand which that term implies. 

Having been a well-known 
and justly popular jockey for 
something like ten years 
Charles A. Ballard has, in 
natural qualifications and in 
special attainments, quite 
met the demands of his ex- 
acting profession. He was 
born in October, 1874, at 
Englewood, N. J., and, un- 
like many horsemen whose 
careers have been followed 
with interest, received a sub- 
stantial public school educa- 
tion. In respect to learning, 
he IS considerably above the 
average, and since leaving 
school has missed no oppor- 
tunity that has presented it- 
self for self-improvement. 
His turf experiences date 
from the time when he was 
fourteen years of age. Then 
he entered the establishment 
of the Messrs. Dwyer Broth- 
ers as an exercise boy. He 
at once showed that he had 
an aptitude for his chosen 
work, and being bright and 

observant, the stable, that was then under the charge 01 
Mr. Frank McCabe, proved to be an excellent school for 
him. From the outset intelligence and fidelity to his 
important trusts characterized all his work, and these 
same qualities have always been the particularly dis- 
tinguishing features of his career, and have gone far to- 
ward winning for him the substantial reputation that he 
has achieved. 

Having served the Dwyer Stable well and acquired 
whatsoever benefit could be derived therefrom in the 
way of mastery of his profession, Ballard's services were 
next, for a short time, employed by Mr. Jeter Walden. 




CHARLES A. BALLARD 



His first important connection, however, was with the 
stable of McMahon & Co., those owners having been 
attracted to him by a knowledge of his skill and reliabil- 
ity. His first mount for this stable was Ariel, at the 
Clifton. N. )., Course, in a race in which he came in 
third. During the season of 1890, he rode for Mr. 
Thomas F. Barrett at the Guttenberg track and also for 
the Glen Island Stable. The horses that were in the 
stable of Mr. Barrett included some very good performers. 
In 1893, Ballard went West and rode some important 
races in that section, including several at the Hawthorne 
Park Course during the World's Fair. For the latter part 
of the season of 1894 and throughout the season of 1893, 

his services were secured by 
Mr. H. Eugene Leigh. As is 
well known, the stable of 
Mr. Leigh held some of the 
most celebrated runners 
known to this decade of the 
American turf. Those of 
the string ridden by Ballard 
included such excellent per- 
formers as Ducat, Urania, 
Handspun, Chant and Haw- 
thorne. With the last 
named horse he was par- 
ticularly successful, out ot 
thirteen starts winning no 
less than nine races. After 
he had closed his engage- 
ment with Mr. Leigh, he 
contracted to ride for Col- 
onel James E. Pepper, al- 
though, for a time, his 
former employer still re- 
tained the first call upon his 
services when required. In 
1896, he attached his for- 
tunes, principally, to the 
stable of Mr. J. J. McCaf- 
ferty. 

While Ballard's career has 
not been as conspicuously brilliant as that of some other 
jockeys, it has been altogether worthy and has been par- 
ticularly notable at several points. His ability has been 
demonstrated on more than one occasion by his success 
with horses that, in other hands, had proved poor or un- 
certain performers. One example of this was in Charade, 
as it is well known he was the most successful rider 
that ever had a "leg up" on that son of Charaxus. 
Agreeable in manner, Ballard has a wide personal ac- 
quaintance with turfmen, among whom he has always 
enjoyed the best leputation, while his skill has commended 
him to owners and to the race-going public. 



379 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Light weight jockeys, it is well recognized by all turf- races, defeating some of the best horses now on the turf. 

men, are in many cases quite unable to give the most In 1895, at St. Asaph, she ran 6}^ furlongs in i minute, 

desirable results with heavy headed horses. Animals of 24^4 seconds, beating The Scalper with Keefe up and 

this class possess all the important requisites for high Reform with Doggett up. At Brighton Beach she traveled 



class racing, but everything depends upon their handling. 
Perhaps this is an altogether trite saying, for as a matter 
of fact, upon the correct handling of every horse his suc- 
cess in a great measure depends. But in some particu- 
lar cases, as, for example, those just referred to, this need 
is more than ordinarily apparent. A jockey, in order to 



a mile in i minute, 42 seconds, beating Doggett with 
Uoggett up, Corncob with Garrigan up and others. At 
Baltimore, the same season, she beat Mabel Glenn, Juan- 
ita, Lady McCann and others in mile races easily by three 
to ten lengths. In i8q6, at Sheepshead Bay, she ran 
1 ,'2 miles on the turf in 2 minutes, 57 seconds, piloted by 



get the best out of the animal that he rides, must be fully O'Leary and beating Sir Dixon with Ballard up. Long 

adapted to him. It might be more correct to say that he Beach with Sims up. Mirage with Sloan up and Jeffer- 

must be able, in every instance, to adapt himself to his son with Lamly up. Upon many other occasions with 

mount, for that, after all, is the real secret of the matter, worthy competitors, O'Leary brought her in at the head 



Some jockeys, it is true, seem 
to be peculiarly fitted for rid- 
ing certain particular kinds of 
horses. This is admirable as 
far as it goes, but when all 
that can be has been said, he 
is the best rider who, after 
barring certain obvious quali- 
fications and limitations, 
mostly pertaining to weight, 
has the natural talent of adapt- 
ing himself to any mount that 
comes in his way. 

Referring again to the gen- 
eral difficulty of light weight 
jockeys with heavy headed 
horses, Frank O'Learv is a 
conspicuous and notable ex- 
ception to the somewhat gen- 
eral rule. He is one of the 
very few of his class who have 
again and again demonstrated 
their ability to ride, and to ride 
well, that particular kind of 
thoroughbred. It might, in 
fact, be said that he is pos- 
sessed of a somewhat remark- 
able faculty, perhaps an alniost intuitive power, in this 




/ 



FRANK O'LEARY 



of the field in remarkably 
good time. 

Although he was born at 
Prescott, Ont., his birth occur- 
ring March 18, 1879. O'Leary's 
connection with the domain 
of horseflesh has been almost 
entirely during his residence 
in the United States. His 
record has been made upon 
the tracks and in the employ 
of stables located on this side 
of the international boundary 
line. He came to this country 
when he was only thirteen 
years of age and at once en- 
tered upon his racing career, 
passing through the prelim- 
inary apprenticeship of exer- 
cising, before he attained to 
the position of jockey. He 
was not slow to demonstrate 
the fact that, in addition to 
natural qualifications for the 
position, he possessed special 
faculties, as has just been 
noted, for the handling of diffi- 
cult horses, and this has had much to do with making his 




respect. On many occasions he has fully displayed his success as a jockey. He has shown his ability on so many 
power to the great satistaction of owners and to other occasions in sharply contested events, that there is no 
frequenters of the race courses, whose familiarity with question of the high rank that he holds in his pro- 
such matters has made them sufficiently astute to recog- fession. 



nize his exceptional skill in connection with such 
mounts. 

Numerous instances might be cited of the work of this 
capable jockey, as proof of his skill. Perhaps as notable 
a case as can be readily recalled was his really clever rid- 
ing of the well-known mare. Sue Kittie, who was owned 
by Mr. O. A. Jones and Mr. W. P. Burch, when O'Leary 
rode her. Under his riding she ran many successful 



The first mount that O'Leary had was Blue Garter, a 
horse owned by D. Higgins. The race was at the Gut- 
tenberg track. From that time on he has been in con- 
stant service riding for sevei'al owners, latterly for Mr. 
Burch and for Messrs. F. R. and T. Hitchcock. He rides 
an exceptionally strong finish, and those who have 
watched him most closely believe that he has within 
himself the makino- o| a notably successful future. 



3S0 



THE AMERICAN TUKl'" 



A iiMtive ol C;in;n.hi, Henry SpL-ncor. although he has 
not yet passed out of his teens, lias had a wide experience 
and is justly legarded as one of the biightest and most 
promising boys that have ever ridden a horse to victory. 
He was born in iS8o, and had his first acquaintance 
with racing affairs when, in the spring of 1894, he en- 
tered the emplov of Mr. A. P, Miller, of California. He 



his services have not been required by the Thompson 
Stable, ridden for Messrs. John Sandford, L. O. Appleby. 
J. Rowe & Co., John Daly, J. E. MclJonald, W. C. Ualy, 
W. B. Landsberg,W. B. Sink, Jr., and others. He has of 
late been very successful, having, during the early season 
of 1898, won a large proportion of the races in which 
he rode. One of his noted feats was in winning the 



was quick to master all the points of the business, and Withers Stakes on The Huguenot, piloting the win- 
early displayed a natural skill in riding that plainly ner over the Withers mile in i minute, 43 seconds. The 
pointed to his ultimate success as a jockev. Before the same day he rode the Messrs. Thompson's Reprisal to 



close of his first year 
with Mr. Miller, he 
received a mount and 
had the opportunity 
to show what quali- 
ties he possessed. His 
success on Favory on 
that occasion was 
gratifying to himself 
and to all who had an 
eye upon him as a 
coming rider. For 
another year he rode 
with Mr. Miller, hav- 
ing a small number 
of mounts, out of 
which he secured a 
fair proportion of win- 
ners. His next en- 
gagement was with 
Mr. William Dona- 
van, for whom he 
rode one season, and 
continued to have a 
success that amply 
justified his choice of 
vocation. 

When the period 
of his engagement 
with Mr. Donavan 
had expired, he felt 
sufficient confidence 
in himself and his 
services were so gen- 
erally in demand by 




HENRY SPENCER 



victory over the 
Eclipse course in i 
minute, 1 3 seconds. 
He also won the 
C 1 a r e m o n t High 
Weight Handicap,6,'i 
tlirlongs, on Warren- 
ton, in 1 minute, 23 
seconds, and a 3 fur- 
longs race at Grave- 
send, on Formero, in 
1 minute, 2'/; seconds. 
Spencer is regarded 
as one of the best 
riders that have come 
out of California in 
many years, foi' al- 
though he was bum 
in Canada, his train- 
ing, as has been al- 
ready seen, began on 
the Pacific Coast and 
practically continued 
there until his form as 
a jockey had been 
fully established and 
his reputation assured. 
The Golden State has 
given to the rest of 
the country m a n y 
very capable hoise- 
men, especially train- 
ers and jockeys, as 
well as owners. The 
magnitude of tuif op- 



those who had come to appreciate his talent, that he erations in that section has naturally developed a class 
determined to ride as a free lance, and was thus oc- of capable stable employees, and many of them have 
cupied for one season. Speaking of this experience, made reputations for themselves that have extended 



he says that he considers he had the best good fortune 
of his career, for he rode about three hLindred races, 
winning some seventy of them. Recently he has signed 
to ride for the stable of Messrs. L. S. & W. P. Thomp- 
son, under the direction of that past master of racing 
and training, Mr, James G. Rowe. He has also, when 



throughout the country. It speaks well for Spencer that 
those who have watched him closest and are most 
familiar with his work, hold that he will not be second 
even to the greatest representative American jockeys. 
He is a quiet, unassuming boy, and has every prospect 
of a brilliant fiitLire. 



3«i 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



As the domnin of the thoroughbred has broadened 
and new sections of the United States have, from year to 
year, come into the racing field, it is becoming a tasfc 
more and more difficult to speak with complete confi- 
dence of any particular part of the country as being the 
nursery of either runners or riders. Predominance in 
these respects naturally remains more or less with those 
localities where breeding and racing have long been 
fixed as an institution. Nevertheless, as the investigator 
into American turf history finds, and is often obliged 
gladly to acknowledge, the newei' parts of the country 
are not altogether devoid of interest and importance in 
these matters. Many good horses, many good turfmen, 
and many good jockeys have come from out of the West. 

Particularly is that true of Ohio, although that State is 
not, however, so far from the 
early and natural home of the 
thoroughbred as to make it 
quite fair to regard it as be- 
longing to the West when 
the particular matter now un- 
der consideration is brought 
up. The sentiment for the 
thoroughbred has extended 
over the line from Kentucky 
into the more Northern State, 
so that the people of Southern 
Ohio are scarcely less infused 
with a liking for the blood 
horse than their neighbors of 
the blue grass territory. The 
proximity of Lexington 
and Louisville, the great 
thoroughbred centres, has 
had an undoubted influence 
upon the people of Ohio, and 
the young men and boys in 
and around Cincinnati look 
upon a racing career quite as 
eagerly as though they had 

been born further South. Among the Western jockeys, 
who are so-called from the place of their origin, but who 
are really Southern in the spirit that pertains to racing, 
no one has recently attracted more attention than Josenh 
Scherrer. He was born in Cincinnati, August 8, 1876. 
After receiving a good common school education, he was 
engaged in selling papers on railroad trains. His 
brightness attracted the attention of many who came in 
contact with him, and Mr. John Hoffman, the well- 
known turfman, took a special fancy to him, believing 
that he had in him the making of a first-class rider. He 
was engaged by Mr. Hoffman for a short time as a stable 
boy. but did not long continue to be thus employed, 
returning to his home in order to engage in other occupa- 




JOSEPH SCHERRER 



tions. By this time, however, the passion for racing was 
firmly fixed in him, and it was not long before he formed 
another racing connection, going to Chicago and enter- 
ing the stable of Frank Van Ness, who will be long 
remembered as the owner of that sensational horse, 
Morello. For some five months the young man remained 
with Mr. Van Ness, but in the autumn of 1894 he went 
to New Orleans, where he took a position with Mr. 
Sidney Berry. Finally, he signed to ride for Mr. F. C. 
Fisher, and this engagement, which was a wholly 
agreeable one to him, extended over a period of two 
years. His career, while riding for Mr. Fisher, was of a 
notable character, and stamped him as a jockey of the 
first class. Not only in the West and South was he 
successful, but his achievements in those sections of 

the country were supple- 
mented by equally notable 
performances in the saddle 
upon the various Eastern 
courses. He was easily in the 
class of the first winning 
jockeys of the season, and 
his riding was watched with 
as keen an interest as was 
bestowed upon that of any of 
his competitors. No rider 
known to the turf in recent 
years has been a harder or 
more conscientious worker. 
It has been nothing for him to 
run up the number of his 
races during a season to 
several hundred, and his wins 
have been proportionately 
large in number. 

Messrs. Bromley & Co., 
having observed Scherrer's 
brilliant riding and the great 
success that so frequently 
crowned his woi'k, made 
overtures for his services while he was employed by 
Mr. Fisher, and he finally entered into a contract with 
them, beginning with the season of 1897. For the 
Bromley Stable he rode some good races, but did not 
confine his services to those employers alone. He also 
had mounts from the Sensation Stable, the Kensico 
Stable, Messrs. J. A. Bennett, Charles Fleischmann, 
George E. Smith, G. W. Innes, A. H. & D. H. Morris, 
M. F. Dwyer and many others. His work in this, his 
first season on the metropolitan tracks, amply fulfilled 
the expectations that the knowledge of his Western 
performances had aroused in regard to him. He pos- 
sesses remarkable finishing power and judgment of a 
hi<2;h order. 



382 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Few professions ;ire more lucrative th;in that of the 
jockey. A successful joci<ey of the highest chiss can 
easily earn many thoLisands of dollars a veai', while at 
the same time numerous and valuable gratuities are con- 
tinually coming to him from appreciative owners and 
admirers. For youngsters — and it is a noticeable fact 
that by far the larger number of jockeys are of youthful 
age, or, at the most, comparatively young men — these 
annual incomes constitute very comfortable sums. In 
fact, there are many successful business and professional 
men who would con- 
sider themselves very 
well offindeed if they 
were able to put that 
amount to their credit 
every year. It is un- 
doubtedly these rich 
rewards that pertain 
to the profession that 
make one of its strong- 
est allurements. The 
voung men and boys 
who are thus so 
handsomely recom- 
pensed could scarcely 
expect to make as 
much in any other 
employment, or, o n 
the whole, to make it 
more agreeably or 
more according to 
their natural tastes. 

It is to the credit or 
the profession that 
notwithstanding the 
rich emoluments that 
come to them, most 
jockeys do not lose 
their heads over their 
good fortune, but 
take it seriously and 
conservatively. There 
are exceptions to this 
rule, of course, and 
any old turfman will 
point out to you not a 

few examples of knights ot the pigskin to whom pros- 
perity has proved a bane. That these are exceptions, 
however, only serves to make more plain the excellent 
personal character of the young men who sport the 
silken jacket. On the whole, they are not carried away 
by the glamour of their positions and the brilliancy ol 
its rewards, but are hard-working, reliable and thrifty. 
Most of them, in the course of time, accumulate some- 




THOMAS H. MURPHY 



thing from their earnings, and are thus able to enjoy a 
somewhat independent future after their riding days 
have closed. 

In this large class of ambitious and promising young 
lightweights, Thomas H. Murphy is another, who, by 
virtue of his public performances, is abundantly entitled 
to consideration. Murphy was born in Chicago, July 
29, 1876. When he was about fifteen years old, he 
entered the employ of Chinn & Morgan, with whom 
he remained during the season of 1892. Before the 

season was ended, he 
rode a few races, 
several of them suc- 
cessfully, his first win- 
ning mount being on 
Erect. The following 
season he was en- 
gaged as lightweight 
jockey for the stable 
of Patrick Dunne, and 
had excellent success, 
riding several hundred 
races and winning 
about thirty or more 
The following year he 
was booked to ride for 
the Whitten Brothers 
for two seasons. 
While with that sta- 
ble, herodesomething 
over eight hundred 
races, winning more 
than one-quarter of 
them, several of his 
successes being for 
important stakes and 
handicaps. On Assig- 
nee he won the In- 
augural Stakes, on 
Tartarin the Golden 
Rod Stakes, and also 
other events on Nick 
and similar good 
horses. In 1897, Mur- 
phy was engaged to 
ride for J. W. Schorr 
& Son, and during the year he won nearly one-half of the 
our hundred races which he attempted. On Meadow- 
thorpe particularly he had good success, winning at Cin- 
cinnati, on that horse, the Moerlin Stakes in 2 minutes, 
I second, and the Moerlin Handicap in 1 minute, 53 
seconds. More recently, he has been engaged to ride 
for Turney Brothers, and has made a very favorable im- 
pression in the East. 



383 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Edmund J. Jones, who is equally well known upon 
the great race courses of far away California, as well as 
upon those of the East, is a newcomei' among the Eastern 
jockeys. Nevertheless, although he has been in the sad- 
dle only a few years, he has already begun to make a 
reputation for himself and to show that he is possessed 
of the true qualities requisite for success in his chosen 
pi'ofession. He is a native of the West, having been 
born in Iowa, in January, 1878. Like so many other in- 
dividuals of whom it 
has been the good 
fortune of these pages 
to treat, he began his 
experience with thor- 
oughbreds very early 
in life. In fact, he had 
scarcely attained the 
age of fifteen when, 
in 1893, he entered 
the employ of that 
well-known and en- 
ergetic t u r f m a n , 
Frank Van Ness. In 
the establishment of 
Mr. Van Ness he re- 
mained two years and 
had the customary ex- 
perience of youngsters 
who aimed to learn 
the business. First 
he was set to exercis- 
ing but remained thus 
engaged for the short 
space of three months 
only. By that time it 
was clear that he had 
made no mistake in 
his choice of vocation 
and when he received 
his first mount on 
Netwood and won 
the race, there was no 
longer any question 
as to his future. 

He remained with 
the Van Ness Stable a little more than a year and a half 
after this, his first success, and was as hard working a 
jockey as had a seat in the saddle anywhere in the 
United States. The races he rode in that time ran up 
to the number of several hundred and of these he had a 
percentage of winnings that was eminently creditable. 
Mr. Adolph Spreckles, the California turfman, saw his 
work upon the tracks on the Pacific Coast and was so 
pleased with it that he engaged him for his stable and 




EDMUND J. JONES 



there he rode for one year. In that time he had some 
SCO mounts and won nearly 100 races, among them be- 
ing several important stakes and handicaps, in which he 
contended with horses and jockeys of the first class. 
Fi'om the stable of Mr. Spreckles he went to the estab- 
lishment of Messrs. Burns & Waterhouse and rode for 
those gentlemen for one year. His record for that year 
was over 600 races, of which number he was successful 
in winning about 140. several of them being of very im- 
portant character. 

Like all jockeys 
who have won their 
way to a place of dis- 
tinction on the 
strength of their mer- 
its, Jones was not in- 
clined to longer attach 
himself exclusively to 
the fortunes of a 
single stable. Accord- 
ingly, upon the 
termination of his 
services with Messrs. 
Burns & Waterhouse, 
he decided to ride 
on his own account 
as a free lance. Sev- 
eral large owners 
were glad to employ 
him and he had a 
mount some 4S0 
times during the sea- 
son. His winning 
races ran up to be- 
tween sixty and sev- 
enty. In the winter 
of 1897, while rid- 
mg on the Southern 
and California courses 
he had very good suc- 
cess. In particular 
on Satsuma, he estab- 
lished three records in 
California; the mile 
record at i minute, 
i9/'3 seconds; the 's of a mile in i minute, 27 seconds, 
and the ^4 of a mile in i minute, 12 seconds. 

In the season of 1898, riding for the Sensation 
Stable on the Eastern courses, he made an excellent im- 
pression. His riding weight is 100 pounds and among 
jockeys of his class he has already taken good position 
If he shall maintain the pace that he has ma aC i 
for himself, he is more than likely to be classed 
of the most capable riders of his day. 



384 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The voung men who pilot the great thoroughbreds to 
victory in these days are as hard-working as they are 
clever. Expansion of racing interests and increasing 
number of racing meetings, with consequent addition to 
the number of races that are run, have resulted in a de- 
mand for jockeys such as it is scarcely possible for the 
supply fully to meet. In spite of all that may be said, it 
is reasonably doubtful if the conditions of the turf that 
make it necessary to call upon a jockey to ride three, four 
or five times a day and, comparatively speaking, almost 
without cessation throughout the entire year, is alto- 
gether advantageous, either to the public, the racing 
men or to the jockeys themselves. Nevertheless, it is 
doubtful if any change would be possible or advisable, 
all things considered, so long as the ninnber of 
really efificient jockevs is lim- 
ited. An enlargement of the 
corps of riders and the less 
frequent appearance of indi- 
viduals might, after all, be less 
agreeably received by the pub- 
lic, since the popularity of a 
jockey is now one of the most 
engaging elements of the 
sport. 

He who rides a great num- 
ber of races is always in the 
public eye and his ability is 
clearly demonstrated beyond 
the possibility of cavil. In a 
matter which is always so 
open to inspection as riding 
must necessarily be, the pub- 
lic cannot long be deceived. 
The jockey of inferior calibre 
is soon relegated to secondary 
position and it is only those 
whose merit is of the highest 
quality that are in demand by 
owners and the public. The 
test of the ability of a jockey 

is not onlv in his occasional successful riding, or his 
brilliant tlnish now and then, but it must also be meas- 
ured by the number of mounts with which the owners 
are inclined to favor him and in which the public is eager 
to welcome him. While a great jockey mav be able, if 
he so wishes, to limit himself to some extent in the 
number of mounts that he takes during the season, it is. 
on the other hand, indisputable that the inferior jockey 
can, under no circumstance, aspire to a large number of 



.Jlf^. 



4 >:. 



WILLIAM S. O'CONNOR 



has already won a position in the foremost ranks. He 
is a native of Brooklyn, where he was born in 1881. He 
is another one of that large company of "Father Bill" 
Daly's youngsters, and his entire racing career has been 
under the direction of Mr. Daly and his brother, Mr. 
Michael Daly. The young man began his experience in 
the employ of Mr. Michael Daly in the spring of 1892. 
There he was set to exercising horses, and continued in 
that work for more than three years. Naturally he was 
anxious to advance, but not having much opportunity 
to ride in races, even after he knew he was capable, he 
succeeded in being transferred to Mr. William C. Daly's 
stable and started in to ride at once. His first mount 
was on Mr. Daly's Emotional and he finished third. His 
fust winning race was also on Emotional. Durins: the 

three months that he rode in 
,^ the season of 1896, he had 
something more than 200 
mounts, out of which num- 
ber he was is or 20 times 
successful. The next year, 
1897, saw considerable im- 
provement in him. He was 
put up in about ^^o races 
and out of that number won 
about 4s or more. 

During the season of 1898, 
his work showed a still further 
improvement, his percentage 
of winning mounts being 
far above the average. 
His stamina has bee n 
fully displayed on more than 
one occasion, especially, per- 
haps, at the fall meeting at 
the Aqueduct Course in 1897, 
when, in one day, he won 
three races, each of them by 
a head, and all of them 
long shots. The steady 
growth in form and power 
that he has shown while actively engaged in riding 
during the last three years, shows that he is one of the 
coming lightweights, and unless all appearances are de- 
ceptive, there is a star career before him. His riding 
weight is 79 pounds, and there are no present indi- 
cations of that terror of all lightweight jockeys, in- 
creasing flesh. He is still engaged with Mr. Daly, to 
whom he has been apprenticed, while Messrs. Burns & 
Waterhouse have second call upon his services. As 





mounts. The jockey who rides in a great number of both Messrs. Daly and Burns & Watehouse have large 

races must be one of good calibre. stables, a very busy career seems to be certainly marked 

Measured by this standard, William S. O'Connor, out for him. That he will be fully equal to his oppor- 

although one of the youngest members of his profession, tunities there should be little doubt. 

385 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



That Lexington, Ky., should certainly produce a pro- 
portionately larger number of distinguished horsemen 
than any other place in the United States, has long ago 
been a foregone conslusion. So often has reference to 
that interesting fact been made in the pages of this 



more that was seen of his work in the early days of his 
career, the more his exhibition of skill attracted the no- 
tice of prominent owners, and after a short time he was 
engaged by the Messrs. Scroggan Brothers to ride their 
horses. He did not remain long connected with this 



volume that further comment upon it has naturally be- stable, and when his contract had expired he engaged 
come superfluous. The matter is. however, more or as a free lance, being employed to ride by such well- 
less interesting to recall whenever the career of one of known and exacting owners as Captain S. S. Brown, the 
these Kentuckians, be he breeder, owner, trainer, jockey Messrs. Fleischmann and others of similar standing, 
or otherwise identified with racing, is brought promi- Mr. Byron McClelland sought his services next, be- 



nently to attention. 
In the case of James 
Perkins, the well 
known and SLiccess- 
ful jockey, another 
example of the result 
of thoroughbred en- 
vironment conspicu- 
ously presents itself. 

Being a native of 
Lexington, that home 
of racing and thor- 
oughbreds, Perkins na- 
turally absorbed Uom 
infancy that . knowl- 
edge of horses which 
is part of the child- 
hood training of every 
Kentucky youngster. 
As far back as he can 
remember, he was 
thrown more or less 
into association with 
thoroughbreds, and 
as soon as he was 
ab'e to maintain a seat 
upon a horse, his in- 
itiation into the mys- 
teries of riding had 
their beginning. Be- 
ing a promising lad 
and displaying a great 
deal of nerve and 
good judgment, es- 
pecially of pace, he 
was looked upon with abundant favor by the turfmen 
under whose inspection he came and who were always 
on the outlook for new and promising youngsters. 

His first actual engagement was with Peter Wimmer 
and his first mount was on Ordrain, with whom he 
finished second in the race, a feat that more than evei 
convinced those who had put faith in him that he had 
all the elements of a good future before him. His first 
winning mount was on the mare Caroline Kinney. The 




JAMES PERKINS 



lieving that he would 
be a very valuable ad- 
junct to his racing 
stable. At that time 
Mr. McClelland was 
the owner cf the re- 
nowned Henry of Na- 
varre and other thor- 
oughbreds who were 
almost in the same 
class. He made a con- 
tract with Perkins, 
and the arrangement 
was one that was mu- 
tually advantageous. 
The great horses that 
Mr. McClelland raced 
gave Perkins the best 
opportunity that he 
had thus far had, and 
he showed himself 
fullv equal to the sit- 
uation, winning many 
desirable stakes for 
his employer. After 
leaving the McClel- 
land Stable, he rode 
for several other 
prominent owners, 
but finally made a 
contract with Messrs. 
Graves & Co. His 
appearance at Morris 
Park, in the spring of 
1897, when he tied 
the 4'_- furlongs record, on George Keene. attracted re- 
newed attention to him. "Soup," as he is known, is 
considered one of the best middle weight jockeys 
now in the saddle. He is clever and painstaking, and 
especially smart in finishing. His services have always 
been greatlv in demand and his mounts have been from 
among the great turf champions of this period. His 
winning races have included many of the most notable 
events of modern times. 



3S6 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Precocity in the youna: men who, in silken JMcket ;ind 
c;ip, pilot the great thoroughbreds past the judges' stand. 
amid the applause of onlooking thousands, has come to 
be well nigh proverbial. It is interesting to consider 
that in no other profession are boys able to attain to such 
prominence and to win such valuable returns in fame 
and money, even before they are out of what should be 
their school days. All this shows not only the remark- 
able opportunity offered by the racing field, but it also 
indicates the existence of a class of youngsters who. 
even before they have 
come to maturity, are 
in possession of quali- 
ties of physique and 
of intellect which 
might well be the 
envy of many of 
their elders. 

Jockeyship is an ex- 
acting profession and 
calls for more than 
the mere ordinary 
ability to keep a seat 
in the saddle. The 
courage, the vitality, 
the quickness of per- 
ception, and the rare 
good judgment of 
pace and of other de- 
tails, are proof of 
something more than 
ordinary ability in the 
persons of those in- 
dividuals who are 
thus possessed of 
them. An explana- 
tion of this phenome- 
non would be inter- 
esting to seek, but 
must be left to other 
students. Neverthe- 
less, one cannot re- 
frain from constant 
admiration at the ster- 
ling ability displayed 
by these lads, even before they are really well into their 
teens. One of these successful young men is John H. 
Jackson, who was born in Lexington, Ky., in i87q. and 
who began his racing experience in 1894, being em- 
ployed in the stable of Lee Christy. Although he 
remained in the establishment of that horseman for a 
year, he was kept at exercising only about six months, 
so quickly did he display his skill for riding. Some 
good mounts were offered to him at once, and during 





JOHN H. JACKSON 



the remaining six months that he remained with Mr. 
(Christy he rode about seventy-five races, winningeighteen 
of them. His first winning mount was on Martin, and 
afterward he won on Manchester, Howard Mann and 
others of the saine class. His work in his first season 
was of good quality, and marked him as a boy of more 
than ordinary skill. His winnings were generally the 
result of intelligent hard work, and he soon caine into 
the class of those jockeys who have a special following 
of race track frequenters. Signing a contract in 189s to 

ride for Samuel C. 
Wagner, he had bet- 
ter success during 
that year than ever 
before. The races 
that he rode n u m- 
bered about 150, and 
of these he pulled off 
about forty. The 
horses that he rode 
included Umbrella, 
Alice W. and others. 
In 1896, he signed to 
ride for J. R. Bradley, 
and had fair success 
with the representa- 
tives of that turf- 
man's stable, riding 
such horses as Buck- 
e y e and numerous 
other good ones. 
More recently, Jack- 
son has ridden for 
Mr. J. A. Bennett. 
who has retained first 
call on his servicjs. 
In 1897, he rode about 
140 races, of which 
he carried off about 
thirty, making a very 
good record. He has 
developed strongly 
since he first began to 
ride, and has shown 
that he is possessed 
of some verv good qualifications that give promise for 
his future. He is a firm, strong rider, and is capable of 
keeping his place in good company. Turfmen are 
watching him closely to see to what measure ot success 
he may ultimately attain. 

It will not escape notice that many aspirants for jockey 
honors never succeed in securing a firm hold. It is, there- 
fore, agreeable when a lad like Jackson comes forward in 
whom there seems to be a substantial basis for success. 



387 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Jockeys are born, not made. As we have so frequently 
seen, most of the men and boys in the saddle have risen 
from the ranks of stable boys and have had few oppor- 
tunities, either for general education or for special in- 
struction in their profession save such as they have been 
able to pick up in the stable. That this has been the 
best possible school in developing great riders, the prac- 
tical experience of years has demonstrated beyond the 
possibility of question. There have been theorists who 
have long and persistently maintained the proposition 
that young men of edu- 
cation would more than 
hold their own as jock- 
eys, if they entered into 
the business with the 
same zest as is displayed 
by the lad who is em- 
ployed in a great stable 
as an exercise boy and 
who knows that he has 
his future in his own 
hands. 

As a matter of fact, how- 
ever, this proposition 
has never been seriously 
put to test. Nothing has 
yet been found superior 
to the experience gained 
in knocking around the 
stable and the youngster 
who should attempt to 
come to the saddle with- 
out this experience and 
relying altogether on 
his general knowledge 
and education, would find 
himself at a great dis- 
advantage when brought 
into competition with 
rivals who have run 
after horses almost 
from the time that they 
were able to walk. Oc- 
casionally there is an ex 

ception to this rule, but the exceptions have never 
been numerous nor important enough to call for anything 
more than momentary attention. It is not likely that this 
condition of things will soon, if ever, change. The suc- 
cessful jockey will probably long continue to be the 
natural outgrowth of the stable and of practical, rough 
everyday experience with horses. Some years ago. it 
is true, the theorists went so far as to propose that a 
school for the instruction of jockeys should be established 
in New York City. Nothing ever came ot this plan. 




JAMES T. R. JOHNSTON 



however, and probably less than nothing would have re- 
sulted from it, had it been possible to put it into practical 
working. 

James T. R. Johnston is a type of the young Irishman 
who has grown up with horses almost from the time 
that he was an infant, and whatsoever success he has at- 
tained has been based upon his boyhood experience. He 
was born in the County Tvrone, November 12, 1878. 
His father was a well-known horseman, and the boy 
when he was ten years of age began exercising the 

horses in his father's 
stable. The same year 
he rode his fust race on 
Fairy Queen and con- 
tinued riding thereafter. 
Although so young that 
it seemed as though he 
could scarcely keep his 
place in the saddle, he 
displayed exceptional 
proficiency and had ex- 
cellent success with all 
his father's horses that 
he undertook to pilot. 
On the turf of Ireland he 
was considered one of 
the best lightweights. 
His ability was strikingly 
displayed by the fact that 
he was successful in win- 
ning with his first three 
mounts. 

Johnston's riding was 
not confined to the stable 
of his father, but he was 
engaged by many other 
owners in Ireland and in 
England, among them 
being Messrs. Henry 
Hamilton, O'Neil and P. 
Kane, Dr. Leitch and 
others. In 1899, he be- 
gan to ride jumpers and 
has been quite as suc- 
cessful in this class of racing as he had been previously 
on the flat. In 1896. he rode the champion high jumpers 
of England and Ireland. His advent in the United States 
has been verv recent, but since he came to this country 
he has had success quite commensurate with the reputa- 
tion that he enjoyed abroad. He has been especially en- 
gaged to ride for Messrs. E. & A. Craven, who have a stable 
of half a dozen good horses. His riding weight is 130 
pounds, and the public mav look forward with pleasurea- 
ble anticipation to seeing him in many interesting contests.. 



38S 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



It is only justice to Harry Martin, the popular light- 
weight, to say that the position which he holds to-day 
has been won by thoroughly good work in the saddle, 
a decided aptitude for his profession and a correct ap- 
preciation of the duties devolving upon him. Born at 
Titusville, Pa.. January 2S, 1875, " Skeets" Martin, as 



an engagement. He then came East, and made his ap- 
pearance on the leading New York courses. 

Upon the Eastern tracks heat once displayed the same 
skill and reliability that in earlier years in California had 
won him fame and promotion. His winning mounts 
have been large in number and important in character. 



he is popularly known, received his education in the Among the stakes that he has won was the Shreve Cup, 

public schools of his native place, and then, at the age 

of fifteen, started out to make his own way in the world. 

Eventually, he landed in California, and it was there that 

he had his tlrst e.xperience with horses in the stable of 

Mr. Appleby, who em- 



ployed him to exerci.se. 
After a year passed in this 
occupation, he entered 
the establishment of Mr. 
D. Smith in a similar capac- 
ity. 

Already, however, young 
though he was, he had 
been considered reliable 
enough to be entrusted oc- 
casionally with a mount 
for the Appleby Stable. In 
this capacity he rode in 
three races, his tlrst mount 
being on a mare named 
Emma D. It was not, 
however, until he became 
fully associated with the 
stable of Mr. Smith that he 
had a real chance to dis- 
play his mettle and dem- 
onstrate his aptitude for 
the professional career that 
he had marked out for 
himself. Mr. Smith early 
recognized his latent abil- 
ity, and gave him the op- 
portunity that was really 
the making of him. His 
tlrst winning mount was 
on Last Chance, and from 
that time on his skill was 
duly recognized, and he 
became a figure of much interest in the racing world. 

In the course of time, it was inevitable that his per- 
formances upon the tracks in California, that so clearly 
demonstrated his skill as rider, should attract the atten- 
tion of prominent Eastern horsemen who now so often 
make a winter pilgrimage to that section of the country 
a part of their yearly itinerary. Among those who 
watched the boy most critically was Mr. Uavid Gideon, 
who was so impressed with his merit that he gave him 




HARRY MARTIN. 



which he took on Lucky Dog, while he was the hero in 
several important and exciting races on Damien and St. 
Lee, including two handicaps on the last-named horse. 
His riding weight is 100 pounds, and this gives him a de- 
cided advantage that has 
stood him in good stead on 
many important occasions. 
At the same time, he has 
combined with this and 
other natural and valuable 
qualifications perfect cool- 
ness, even when in the 
most trying situations, and 
exceptional good judgment 
as to pace and the position 
of his mount. 

Wherever he has ap- 
peared, he has made a 
most favorable impression, 
both with owners and with 
followers of the race tracks 
generally. Throughout his 
entire career he has con- 
ducted himself with pru- 
dence and in a manner that 
has been admirably calcu- 
lated to win and retain the 
confidence of his many ad- 
mirers. Of late he has 
again been more identified 
with the West than with 
the East, and has secured a 
large personal following. 
The magnitude and im- 
portance of his work can 
be best understood, per- 
haps, by the simple state- 
ment of his engagements 
during the year 1897, for example. In that season alone 
he had 1,2,7 mounts. His winning races were 2(39. He 
was second 242 times, third 181 times, and unplaced 563 
times. This would be a creditable record for an old and 
matured jockey with a lifetime of experience behind 
him. For a comparatively young man, who in all prob- 
ability has a long future to look forward to, it stamps him 
as a high class member of his profession and fixes his 
position beyond question. 



3S9 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



There is no nationality in jocl<eydom and no sectional- 
ism. Our English cousins naturally claim pre-eminence 
in this respect, as they do in regard to all other mat- 
ters of the turf, but again and again even they have 
been met upon their own grounds and their colors 
lowered by expeiienced riders who were not to the Eng- 
lish manner born. In the United States the record of 
jockeys, as respects 
place of birth and 
early training, have 
been altogether var- 
ied. It might natu- 
rally be thought that 
the South, where 
thoroughbred inter- 
ests have been of such 
overwhelming impor- 
tance for generations, 
would furnish the 
most proficient jock- 
eys and by far the 
larger number. In- 
vestigation shows, 
however, that this 
supposition scarcely 
holds true. The 
American turf has had 
many celebrated rid- 
ers, who, in the 
splendor of their ac- 
complishments, have 
rivaled even the best 
English jockeys, and 
they have come to 
their fame from all 
parts of the country. 
The South has fur- 
nished many of them, 
others have come 
from the far West and 
even New England 
has contributed a 
few, while New Yoi'k 
has been specially 
noted in this respect. 
Henry P. Griffin is 
one of the New York 

jockeys of distinction. He was boin in New York, 
December 13, 1876, and, when he was about is years 
of age, was taken in charge by Mr. James Shields and 
initiated into the mysteries of racing. Of course he 
began as an exercise boy. but his restriction to this 
work lasted a short time, for he was soon promoted 
to the saddle and made an almost instantaneous hit. 




HENRY F. GRIFFIN 



Few riders ever enjoyed greater popularity than he 
when he was at the height of his career, a popularity that 
was in every way merited. 

The first horse that he rode was Alaric, who belonged 
to Mr. Shields and was raced at Gloucester. During the 
time that he was riding for Mr. Shields and other owners, 
his ability was recognized by Mr. David Gideon, 

who secured his serv- 
ices, and in that sta- 
ble he had opportun- 
ity befittinghis talents, 
and soon demon- 
strated that he was 
among the best in the 
country. Not only 
did he pilot winners 
for Mr. Gideon, but he 
also rode for the 
Messrs. Keene, Dwyer 
Brothers, P. Lorillard, 
Gideon L. Knapp, E. 
J. Baldwin, Edward 
Corrigan and others. 
When Mr. August 
Belmont, Jr., had as- 
assembled his grand 
collection of thor- 
oughbreds, he e n- 
gaged Griffin as pre- 
mierjockey. That this 
engagement was a 
wise one for the Bel- 
mont Stable no one 
familiar with the turf 
history of recent years 
c a n for a moment 
doubt. Griffin's suc- 
cess with the Belmont 
horses, until the time 
of his retirement in 
i8q6, was of a nota- 
b 1 e character. For 
Mr. Belmont a n d 
others he rode such 
great champions as 
Lady Violet. Henry of 
Navarre, Ramapo,The 
Butterflies, Requital, Clifford, Handspring, Hastings, and 
many others. Financial prosperity naturally followed 
Griffin and the full reward of his ability came to him. 
Although too heavy longer to ride, he still maintains a 
deep interest in turf matters, and in the future he may be 
still further identified conspicuously in the sport in which 
he has borne such an important and brilliant part. 



390 



THE AAIKRICAN TURF 



Although Jimmy Michael has attained to .ofreater fame learning how to ride and in acquiring a knowledge of" 
as a bicyclist, there seems to be no good reason why he all the details of successful jockeyship. As yet, he has 
should not also achieve success in the saddle. The not actually retired from the field of bicycling, a circum- 
same qualities of stamina, courage and acuteness that stance that is undoubtedly pleasing to his many admir- 
have enabled him to win on the wheel, are those which 
are the essential ciualillcations for successful jockeyship. 
During his experience in exercising horses he has 



found that his bicycle training has been of very great 
benefit to him. One of the most important things for a 
jockey is to know how 
to pace the animal 
that he is riding. It 
is the same thing with 
the bicyclist, and Mi- 
chael, who has shown 
himself so clever in 
respect to the lattei', 
says that he does not 
find any difference be- 
tween the two and is 
sure that he can tell 
just exactly how fast 
he is going when on a 
horse as he can when 
riding a wheel. 

Born in Aberman, 
Wales, in November, 
1876, this clever 
young man already 
has an international 
reputation. He is one 
of the champion bi- 
cycle racers of the 
world, having met 
and defeated the best 
men in that branch of 
sport in Europe and 
the United States. 
He has always had an 
ambition to become a 
jockey, and when a 
boy in his native 
Wales was accus- 
tomed to riding on 
horseback, even be- 
fore he had made the 

acquaintance of a bicycle. Although for a time the 
pursuit that has brought him fame has most engrossed 
his attention, it has never alienated him from his early 
liking for horses, and in coming again to the saddle pro- 
fessionally, he will but return to that pursuit that seemed 
first to attract him. 

It has been remarked of him that he takes kindly to 
the new pursuit and has been exceedingly quick in 



JIMMY MICHAEL 



ers, who have followed his career with something more 
than ordinary interest. He does not think that bicycling 
is likely to interfere seriously with his riding or con- 
versely. The same system of training and adherence to 
good habits that are found necessary to keep him in con- 
dition for bicycle rac- 
ing are also the impor- 
tant elements in the 
life ot the hard work- 
ing jockey. He cer- 
tainly has this advan- 
tage, that his occupa- 
tion heretofore has 
been of a character to 
peculiarly fit him for 
the pursuit in which 
he contemplates en- 
tering. The bicycle 
engagements that he 
has will take him from 
the race course dur- 
ing the season of i8q8, 
but will, on the 
whole, he expects, 
tend to improve his 
condition for riding, 
rather than to inter- 
fere with it. It is like- 
ly, moreover, as time 
goes on and he finds 
his interests more 
and more absorbed by 
the turf, he may be 
heard less and less fre- 
quently in that sport 
with which he has 
heretofore been prin- 
cipally identified. 

Michael is a light- 
weight, w eigh ing 
even when not in 
training, only 108 
pounds. With that natural weight there would seem 
to be no reason why he should not be able to reduce to 
98 pounds, thus putting himself in a class of the most 
useful lightweights. The exercising and practicing 
that he has followed up in the Dwyer Stable, under that 
excellent trainer, Mr. Frank McCabe, have given abun- 
dant promise of his future. His career will be watched 
with great interest. 




391 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



It has probably not escaped the notice of those who 
have given careful consideration to the subject, that the 
far-away Southwest has taken no inconsiderable part in 
racing affairs in the present generation. That the sport, 
as it is conducted in other parts of the country should 
assume very conspicuous piominence in that section is. 
to be sure, scarcely to be expected. The racing institu- 
tion is an object of comparatively slow growth. In the 
North and in the South, where it has been most fully 
developed, it has had more than a century of existence, 
without which there is no sufficient reason to believe 
that it could ever have succeeded in attaining to its pres- 
ent proportions. Long years are necessary for its fullest 
development and also for the creation of an interested 
community that shall give to it the generous financial 
supper necessary to its stability. 

In the newer sections of the country which have been 
settled only a short time, as compared with the older 
States, the conditions precedent to the full and success- 



among those which have given favor to meetings for the 
thoroughbreds. In Kansas there have been frequent 
meetings in such places as Atchison, Wichita, Leaven- 
worth and elsewhere. Texas, too, has come into the 
ranks of racing States, the meetings at Houston, Dallas, 
Victoria, Denton, and other centres of population having 
attained to a character that entitles them to more than 
passing notice. 

From this section of the country also have come a few 
of the leading American turfmen of this period, and their 
names are known and respected wherever the thorough- 
bred is followed. Texas, in particular, has raised some 
good horsemen. The hoi'se interests of that State, thor- 
oughbred and otherwise, have developed strong riders 
and trainers, men who have been familiar with horses 
from their earliest youth, and who have a complete and 
accurate understanding of the ec^uine nature. Some of 
them have been the outgrowth of cowboy experience, 
and it is interesting to note in passing that, among cow- 



ful instalment of this sport must necessarily be largely boys of the Southwest, the old-fashioned quarter racing 
absent. Even as it was in the old colonial days of the 
Atlantic seaboard, and later on in the Mississippi Valley, 
the settlers of our great Southwest have been engrossed 
with the mighty task of subduing nature and of building 
up a great material prosperity. They have come forward 
with marvelous strides, and in everything that goes to 
make up enterprise and successful business have long 
rivaled even the older parts of the United States. That 
they have not, as yet, given that attention to the particu- 
lar sport of racing, is, under the circumstances, perhaps, 
not altogether surprising. Furthermore, that section of 
the countrv. quite as much as New England and the 
Northwest, is wholly lacking in the inspiring traditions 



that was so much practiced in the colonies, a century or 
more ago, has continued much in vogue even in the 
present time. It is not from this class of horsemen, 
however, that the turfmen whom the country has learned 
to know so well have been drawn. They are those who 
have been associated from the very first with the thor- 
oughbred and whose later career has been but an advance 
along the same lines as those upon which they started. 

Among these of the Southwest who hold excellent 
rank among modern turfmen stands that successful 
jockey, Henry Shields, who was born in Dallas, Tex.. 
December 2, 187^. He began his racing experience in 
i88q as an exercise boy for Mr. James M. Brown. In 



that pertain to the thoroughbred and his performances the course of time he was promoted to the saddle, and 

and that have been for several generations the whole- rode for Mr. Brown for several years. The first horse 

some and powerful stimulus in developing racing intei- on which he won was Giveaway. After the death of 

ests in other parts, where, as we have seen, they have Mr. Brown, his son. Mr. J. E. Brown, continued racing 

become firmly fixed in the hearts of the people. the stable of his father, and with him Shields remained 

At the same time, however, the people of the South- two years, his term of service with the Brown Stable 

west have shown to some extent that they are by no covering, altogether, four years. After that he rode 

means devoid of that passion for racing that characterizes independently for two years, his services being engaged 

their fellow-countrymen elsewhere. They have given by several owners, and for them he rode winning races, 

considerable attention to the trotter, and the perform- During his long career he has ridden upon all the great 

ances on their trotting tracks have been often of a notable courses of the country, including those around New 



character. The running hoi'se also has had his followei's 
among them, and while there have been almost no large 
and important coiu'ses theie. the small racing meetings 
have been very considerable in number. Especially is 
this true of Missouri. Kansas and Texas. In many years 
in Missouri, for instance, there have been a dozen or 
more racing meetings during the season, those at St. 
Louis and Kansas City being the most important, and 
really of national character. Such places as St. Charles, 
St. Joseph and others of lesser note must also be included 



York, as well as those in Louisville, New Orleans, Mem- 
phis, Nashville, Cincinnati. St. Louis and Chicago, as 
well as in California and in (Canada. 

More recently Shields was engaged to ride for Mr. W. 

B. Sink, whose horses were in the care of Mr. Samuel 

C. Hildreth. In iSqb, he won the Gunst Selling Stakes 
of the California Jockey Club, riding Service. On the 
same hoise and other members of Mr. Sink's stable, 
and also for other owners. Shields has been success- 
ful, and many good laces have been placed to his credit. 



392 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Samuel Jesse Doggett was born November 29, 1871. 
near Falmouth. 111. At the age of fifteen he had amount 




Born in Auburn, N. Y., May 28, 1876. William Ham 
began his racing experience in 1889, when he was a lad 
of only thirteen years of age. For several years he was 
apprenticed to William Rogers. His first win was on 
the horse Oberlin in a handicap on the Gloucester, N.J., 
course, and for several years he was principally identi- 
fied with that track. He won an extraordinary num- 
ber of races there, and was very successful financially. 
During his reign at Gloucester, he was really the premier 
jockey. In 1893, for example, he won 2^6 races, and 
was only unplaced 37 times. 

Nor was his success limited to Gloucester. At St. 
Louis, he won 37 races in 50 days; at St. Paul, he won 
47 races; at Latonia, 21 races; at New Orleans, 47 races; 
at Newport, Ky., 11 races; at Windsor, Canada, 9 races, 
and at Joliet, Ind., iq races. At Milwaukee, he rode 
three races, winning two of them. A severe accident 
laid him up for some time, but later in the season he 
rode 21 races and only finished twice outside the 
money. For the season of 1897, he signed with Mr. 
Marcus Daly. His hard work has brought him a com- 
fortable competence, and he has a pleasant home in 
Auburn, N. Y. He has been an enterprising, energetic 



SAMUEL J. DOQQETT 

at a county fair, and has virtually been riding ever since. 
His first professional engagement was with Mr. J. P. 
Smallwood. Going next to the stable of Mr. David 
Waldo, of Chicago, he was afterward connected with 
Mr. Frank A. Ehret, Dr. Gideon L. Knapp, and Mr. 
Francis D. Beard. He has also ridden for other owners, 
having had mounts from many prominent stables, while 
the horses he has successfully piloted compose a host of 
the famous cracks. This list might be supplemented by 
an equally striking selection from the stakes and events 
he has won. 

As an owner. Doggett has also figured successfully, 
his plan being to purchase yearlings, train them and sell 
them to other turfmen. Among the number that have 
in this way passed through his hands are Montpelier, 
The Bully, Doggett and others. Throughout his career, 
Doggett has been noted for his temperance, attention to 
business and frugality. As a reward, he has an ideal 
home, one of the most beautiful places at Gravesend, 
Brooklyn. Here, in addition to a fine house, surrounded 
by shaded, well-kept lawns, is a broad expanse ot 
pasture expressly adapted to keeping horses. He en- 
joys every comfort that life affords, in company with a 
helpmate whose devotion has aided greatly in building 
his reputation and fortune. In all his professional and 
personal relations, his sterling integrity has made him 
one of the highly esteemed men of the turr. 




i 



WILLIAM HAM 

worker, and during his career has been a 
figure in many exciting contests. 



conspicuous 



393 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Alonzo Clayton was born in Kansas City, Mo., in 1876, 
and like many boys, had a tondness for riding horses. 




ALONZO CLAYTON 



His ambition to become a jockey soon asserted itself, 
and he prevailed upon his parents to permit him to go 
with Mr. E. J. Baldwin. He remained with the Bald- 
win Stable one year, when he came East and engaged 
with Mr. D. A. Honig, who at that time had a string at 
Clifton, N. J. it was at this track that he had his first 
mount, riding Redstone. For two years afterward he 
continued with Mr. Honig and then Mr. Donovan, of 
Elizabeth, engaged him. Clayton continued in his em- 
ploy until he secured a position with Mr. Ross, of Sara- 
toga, with whom he remained one season, after which 
he was engaged with Richmond Smith, the Bashfoi'd 
Manor Stable and the Pastime Stable. 

Subsequent to this, however, Clayton rode some of the 
famous horses owned by Mr. Byron McClelland, among 
them being The Commoner and Halma and that star per- 
former Henry of Navarre. When Mr. James G. Rowe 
was engaged to train Col. W. P. Thompson's horses, 
he entered into negotiations with Clayton to ride for the 
Brookdale string. There is a record of many stakes 
where his name as the winning jockey appears, among 
which are the Brooklyn Handicap in 1894, the Futurity 
in 1894, the Cotton Stakes at Memphis, in 1895, and 
the Saratoga Stakes in 1895. His brilliant win on Tillo 
in the Suburban of 1898, is fresh in the mind of the turt 
world. Clayton will, no doubt, add many laurels to 
his credit before he ceases to be active. 



In looking over the history of the turf for any great 
number of years one cannot fail to be impressed with the 
fact that, more than any other class of individuals con- 
nected with racing, the jockeys have only a short day. 
The exactions of their work have a tendency to wear 
them out, but that is not the principal thing that lies in 
the way of their permanency in the saddle. No matter 
how small a boy may be, or how promising in the way 
of limited growth or meagre flesh, the time is very likely 
soon to come when he has passed beyond the limit of 
usefulness in size and weight. Few of them can avoid 
growing, however much they may wish to attain that 
much desired consummation. Consequently the men of 
years who are still in the saddle are comparatively few in 
number. 

One of the oldest jockeys now in active work and as 
capable as any in his class is Robert Williams, who is 
better known perhaps, by his favorite nickname, "Tiny." 
He was born in Chillicothe, O., December 10, i868. His 
racing experiences began in 1879. with the Messrs. Mace 
Brothers and later he was engaged with other prominent 
owners of that time. He had his first mount in 1883, 
and his first winning race was on Lillie Dale at New 
Orleans. Among the owners who have employed him 
have been Messrs. W. L. Scott, E. S. Gardner, Scroggan 
Brothers, E. J. Baldwin and Turney Brothers. More 
recently Mr. j. E. Seagram, the great Canadian turfman, 




ROBERT WILLIAMS 



has had the first call upon him. He is a good, service- 
able rider, hard-working and reliable. 



3 94 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Few men known to the turf have had more rapid Love of horses is the prime element in the success of 
progress or higher or more marked reputation at the age every jockey, and James h'ving, who has been connected 
of twenty-nine than Anthony Hamilton. He was born 
in Columbus, S. C, in 1866. He is a jockey to the 
manner born, having from his young days been familiar 
with the saddle. His apprenticeship began in the stable 
of Mr. William Lakeland, for whom he rode until 1886. 
His next engagement was with Mr. J. B. Haggin, with 
whom he remained until 1888. Impoitant assignments 
followed this one, including services with Senator George 
Hearst, the senior August Belmont and Messrs. M. F. 
Dwyer. Pierre Lorillard, J. R. Keene and August Bel- 
mont. Jr., and he has also ridden independently. 

It is a high compliment to pay to a man to say that 
he has ridden a winner in every important event on the 
American turf, but that assertion may correctly be ap- 
plied to Hamilton. All patrons of the great races remem- 
ber his exciting victories, and the events in which he 
participated have been enriched by exhibitions of his 
riding, such, tor example, as the Brooklyn Handicap, 
which he won with Exile, in 1889, and in 1895 with 
Hornpipe; the Suburban, with Lazzarone, in 1895, and 
the Metropolitan, with Counter Tenor, in 1896. During 
his career of twelve years he has accomplished a greater 






ANTHONY HAMILTON 



amount of work than many men have succeeded 
getting through with in a long lifetime. 



m 



JAMES IRVING 

with some of the best American stables, manifested this 
disposition from his earliest boyhood. He was born in 
New York City, in 1873, and his first definite connec- 
tion with thoroughbreds was in the stable of Mr. J. B. 
Haggm, under that great trainer, Matthew Byrnes. 
From the stable of Mr. Haggin he went to that of Mr. 
G. Walbaum, continuing as exercise boy altogether for 
two vears. But during this time he received his first 
mount, and also recorded his first winning, which was 
on Pat Donovan. Mr. David Waldo, of Chicago, next 
engaged his services, and he remained there for two 
vears, to his own advantages and that of his employer. 
Among the winning mounts that he had from the Waldo 
Stable were Carlsbad. Ida Pickwick and others. 

An engagement with the Chicago Stables of Messrs. 
Hankin & Johnstone followed, and during the three 
years that he maintained this connection he had special 
good fortune, winning an unusually large number of 
stakes and handicaps, among them being the Columbus 
Handicap, the Detroit Derby and the Blue Grass and the 
Ladies' Stakes. Latterly he has been engaged with 
Thomas J. Healey. He is looked upon as one of the 
coming jockeys, and his career will be followed with 
interest by his admirers. 



395 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Albert Songer is one of the many capable young men 
who have come from Canada to win distinction in con- 
nection with the turf. He was born in Toronto, October 
4, 1880. Entering the stable of Mr. |. Doyne in the 
spring of iSc)4, when he was only a little over thirteen 
years of age, he got his first taste of the business to 
which he has since devoted himself. He remained with 
Mr. Doyne for one year, being employed in exercising, 
and when he gave up that position it was to enter the 
employ of Mr. R. Burger, where he continued for two 
years. He was not long confined to the less important 
work in the Burger Stable, for he commenced to ride 
very soon, and with good success. 

In the first two years of his riding he had several hun- 
dred mounts, and won a reasonably fair proportion of 
the races in which he was engaged. He has piloted to 
victory many prominent horses and has been the central 
figure in numerous exciting finishes. Most of his career 
has been through the West and in Canada, but his ap- 
pearance upon the Eastern courses in the fall of 1897 was 
of very satisfactory character, although he was so un- 
fortunate as to meet with a fall at the Aqueduct Meeting 
which temporarily incapacitated him for work. Recently 
he has been engaged to ride for the stable of Mr. James 
Galway, a circumstance that is the strongest testimony 
to the reputation that he has achieved as a capable light- 
weight. Songer rides at q=i pounds, and it is believed that. 



One of the jockeys who has come decidedly to the 
front in the past few seasons is Joseph S. Hewitt. In 




ALBERT SONQER 




barring accident, he has a long and useful career before 
him. His services will probably be much in demand. 



JOSEPH S. HEWITT 

fact, his record has already established his right to a 
place among the most prominent members of his profes- 
sion, and possessing, as he does, the natural qualifica- 
tions, including coolness, skill, good judgment and light 
weight, together with the confidence of some of the 
most prominent owners on the turf, there is every reason 
to expect that his career will be successful and prosper- 
ous. He comes by his qualifications as a matter of in- 
heritance. He was born at Westbury. Long Island, 
where his father was superintendent of the famous 
Meadowbrook Hunt Club. He attended school regularly, 
but at the same time was constantly among horses and 
imbibed horse lore and an enthusiasm for thoroughbreds. 
He was carefully instructed by his father, a respected and 
experienced horseman, so that his finished style is the 
outcome of no ordinary training. 

In iSq^, he entered upon real woi'k by engaging with 
Mr. August Belmont to exercise horses, and profited by 
his experience with the crack matei'ial composing the 
famous Blemton Stable. In iSq^, he had his first mount 
in public, riding Right Royal at the Sheepshead Bay 
Course. Although he has been largely in Mr. Belmont's 
service, he has ridden successfully for many owners and 
made a trip to California with Harry Griffin, and while 
there rode for Messrs, Burns & Waterhouse. Among 
the noted horses he has piloted are Tragedian, Merry 
Prince, Floretta IV,, Howai'd Mann. Patrol and Octagon. 



396 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Lightweight jockeys who LOinliine with this advantage 
not only skill and judgment, Init the necessary amount 




THOMAS POWERS 



of physical force, are sought for in the I'acing world 
much more frequently than they are found. Thomas 
Powers is one of the few now in the saddle who can 
be classed in this category. Riding at about ninety-five 
pounds, he has given evidence of some superior ability 
in his profession. Powers began his turf career with 
George Newton, for whom he exercised, and it was 
while employed by Mr. Newton and on that owner's 
horses that he made his initial appearance as a rider on 
the track. After a year and a half's e.xperience he en- 
gaged with Mr. W. J. Roche, who owned Free Lance, 
Sir Knight. Blue Knight and other good horses, and then 
became connected with the stable of R. Bradley, for 
whom he rode Panway. Cliquot, Second Chance, Lady 
Greenway and other members of the string. 

At the same time his services have been in request for 
other owners than those with whom he has been per- 
manently connected. Among the mounts with which 
he has been intrusted are such horses as Petrel, Crom- 
well, Urania, Set Fast. Jefferson. Refugee. Sir Vassar and 
a great number of others, in a majority of instances scor- 
ing victories upon them. 'When Mr. Pierre Lorillard 
lately transferred his racing interests from the American 
to the English turf, he made Powers a flattering offer to 
cross the ocean and ride upon the courses of the Old 
Country. This offer was declined for personal reasons, 
but it is generally thought that the American rider, had 
he decided to go. would have made a good record in 
competition with the best leading jockeys of England. 



During a period covering almost ten years Wil- 
liam H. McDermott has been identified with racing 
in and about New York and also on the other great tracks 
of the country. He is one of that large class of horse- 
men who are natives of New York City and get their 
first inspiration in racing matters on the great Eastern 
tracks. He was sixteen years of age when he entered 
the ranks in 1890, being employed by William McMahon, 
who, by the way, is the father-in-law of the celebrated 
jockey, " Snapper " Garrison. With Mr. McMahon he 
remained for three years, at the outset as exercising boy. 
The art of jockeyship came to him quickly, however, and 
before he had served a full year of his apprenticeship he 
began to ride in races. 'While he remained with Mr. 
McMahon he was favored with some three hundred 
mounts and came in winner about fifty times. The most 
prominent horses that he rode were Prince Edward. Lone 
Jack and others of similar class. 

After leaving the employ of Mr. McMahon he had an 
engagement with Mr. Frank Engeman for one year, win- 
ning about 40 races for that owner's stable; on Chateau 
alone he won 12 races. His next engagement was with 
Mr. 'William Phillips, during which he won about ^o races 
out of 200 mounts, the best horses that he piloted 
being Lottie A., Schoolmarm and Sir Clifton. During the 
season of 1897, he was engaged with Mr. Jere Dunn, riding 
Sunny Slope, Ruby Lips, Blissful, Diana's Daughter and 
others. On the whole, he has had a very good record, 





A 



■■*v. 






WILLIAM H. McDERMOTT 



holds a fixed position, and seems likely to be heard from 
in the near future. His riding weight is ninety pounds. 



397 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Born in Fordham, N. Y., November \2. 1877, Robert Coming of a racing; family. Eugene Van Keuren has 
Harrison was fortunate in being brouglit up in the racing fully justified his name by his turf exploits. His brother, 
atmosphere that has long pertained to Westchester 
County, and especially to the neighborhood of Jerome 
Park and Morris Park. His racing experience began in 
i88q. when he was engaged in the stable of W. J. 
Spiers. His maiden race was won on Lansdale. In 
iSqt. after having been with Mr. Spiers for several years, 
he engaged with Robeil Clare, who was then training 
the stable of Mr. Arthur White, and he rode Challenger. 
Christmas, Titmouse and other horses. His next en- 
gagement was with John Hvnes. who in recent years has 
had such good horses in training as Brisk, Declare, Pass- 
over, Ma Petite and others. 

Harrison has won on Brisk, Lida Woodlands. Ma 
Petite, Watercress and manv others, his successes being 
generally of a clever character and showing good skill 
and self-possession. His average riding weight is ninety- 
eight pounds. Besides the hoises mentioned he has rid- 
den others of distinction, and has won manv races. 
He has been particLilarly successful in the West, where 
he is regarded in good favor. He is skilful in his work, 
and his cai'eer has been characterized bv sti'ict attention 





'^ -WfTW 




EUGENE VAN KEUREN 

William Van KeLiien. will be recalled as a former jockey, 
and now as one of our owners and trainers. Eugene 
Van Keuren was born in Port Jervis, N. J.. October 18. 
1871. He began his racing experience in 1886 in the 
stable of the Messrs. Dwyer Brothers. After a brief 
term of service for the Chicago Stable, he returned to 
his former employers and was also promoted to ride. 
His first mount was on Battery, and his first win was on 
Winona. 

Subsequently he rode for W. H. Timmons. when that 
tui'fman had One, False Ahrens and other noted thor- 
oughbreds. Next Van Keuren signed with Mr. E. J. 
Baldwin, and then went with the Springhurst Stable. 
Beginning with the season of 1897. he engaged with 
Covington & Kent. Still later he has been again with 
the stable of Mr. Timmons. He has ridden on nearly 
all the tracks in America, has had good mounts and cor- 
respondingly good success. His average riding weight 
is 102 pounds. The fact that he has alieady attained his 
full growth should enable him to ride for many years to 
come, while with the skill that he has shown, there is 

to business and careful consideration of the best interests every reason why he should be expected to hold a good 

of the stables with which he has been connected. position in his profession. 

39S 




ROBERT HARRISON 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Born in New York City, Charles O Donnell, who is 
one of the good lightweight jockeys of this period, 
began his racing experience with the stable of W. H. 
Roller. At that time Mr. Roller owned Azrael. Little 
Fred. Lester and other horses of prominence, and in their 
company O' Donnell had a very good introduction to the 
thoroughbred family. With Mr. Roller, O' Donnell re- 
mained for a single year, and then, in 189^, engaged to 
ride for James Shields. He was occupied in exercising 
only a comparatively short time before he was promoted 
to lide in races. His maiden race was on Juliette, and 
it was also his first win. natui'allv to the great delight 
of not only himself, but also his employer. 

Afterward he went to New Orleans, where he rode 
largely for Mr. J. E. Madden, but had mounts from 
other stables. Among his sensational races was one on 
Lineage at New Orleans. At Baltimore, in uSqb. he won 
nearly every race that he rode. At St. Asaph one season 
he won six races, all of which were suiprises to the 
public. His riding in the East in 181^7. attracted the 
attention of Mr. James H. McCormick, the trainer for 
Messrs, Burns & Waterhouse, and he was assigned to 
ride for that stable. One of the best races that he ever 
placed to his credit was on the grass at Sheepshead Bay, 
when he won with Hugh Penny, defeating Sun Up and 



The first experience of John T. Coylie, another of the 
arge class of eminent lightweights, was with Mr. Will- 





CHARLES O DONNELL 



Others. He is a joclvey of strong calibre, and able to give a 
good report of himself even when in the best of company. 



JOHN T. COYLIE 

iam A. Engeman. He remained with Mr. Engeman. 
exercising horses, for one year. This was in i8qi. 
when he was fourteen years of age, having been bom 
in 1877. in Meriden. Conn. Subsequently he was con- 
nected with James McLaughlin for four years. His work 
was of an admirable character and attracted a great deal 
of attention. He weighed some seventy-tlve pounds, 
and displayed skill almost beyond his weight and 
years. During the season of i8q^. he rode only a small 
number of races, about twelve, of which he was suc- 
cessfLil in winning several. The following year he had 
a mount some fifty times and was successful in coming 
in at the head ten times. 

In i8q^. he had advanced to an even better standing, 
carrying to his credit some thirty out of one hundred 
races, among them being several stakes and handicaps. 
During the season of i8q6, he rode only part of the time, 
having met with an accident. The season of 1807 was 
a particularly successful one for him. and his riding of 
Premier in races against more experienced jockeys was 
often and favorably commented upon. LJpon this horse 
he won several consecutive races, and in most of the 
events in which he was engaged he was part of an ex- 
ceedingly close finish. Among the stakes he won with 
Premier was the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct. More 
recently he has made a first-class connection with the 
stable of Mr. Sydney Paget, and has a promising future. 



,399 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Although the State of Pennsylvania has never been 
particularly noted for its concern for the thoroughbred, 




^ 




JOHN T. HILL 

yet within the confines of that commonwealth have 
been two of the most noted later day breeding and rac- 
ing establishments. Oniv the merest mention of the 
names of these two places, the Algeria of the Honorable 
William L. Scott, and the Erdenheim of Mr. Aristides 
Welch, is necessary in this connection. The former 
gained distinction for itself and for the American turf 
through the imported stallion. Rayon d'Or; the latter 
was not less famous through the glories of imported 
Leamington, and, in later day, the noble Parole. 

At Chestnut Hill was the Erdenheim Stud, and it was 
in that neighborhood that the young jockey. Hill, was 
brought up. Beginning his racing career in 1892, when 
he was a boy of twelve years of age, he was engaged in 
the stable of M|-. Walter Gratz, and remained there for 
some two years, being principally employed in exercis- 
ing. In 1894, his services were engaged by Mr. John V. 
Elliott as a lightweight, and with that gentleman he 
remained for a single season. Subsequently, in i8q6, he 
was employed by Mr. M. P. Dwyer. Remaining with the 
Dwyer Stable during iSqy, he rode Ben Ronald, Hardly. 
Wadsworth and others, and also had mounts for outside 
owners. He won a number of races on Ben Ronald and 
Wadsworth. Still connected with the Dwyer Stable, he is 
regarded as a good rider and holds an excellent rank 
among the lightweights who are now coming to the 
front so strongly and in such large numbers. 



Born in Fredericksburg. Tex., in 1880, Max Hirsch, one 
of the bright young lightweights of the present era, 
attended school only until he was eight years of age, 
and soon after that entered upon a racing career. First 
he was heard of in quarter racing around the county fairs 
of his native State. Then engaged with the Morris Farm 
in Texas, where he was employed for two years. There 
his work was of such a satisfactory character that Mr. 
R. W. Walden brought him East and has since kept him 
busy for himself and for the stable of Messrs. A. H. & 
D. H. Morris. He has ridden upon all the prominent 
courses in the South, West and East. 

During his entire career in the saddle he has been con- 
nected with the Morrises, but has occasionally ridden for 
outside owners. In fact, owners and trainers have come 
to be specially desirous of his services for their horses let 
in at lightweight. His work has always been of good 
character. He is a capable jockey, well liked by his 
employers, and also a favorite with the public and with 




MAX HIRSCH 

his fellow riders. Those who know him best consider 
that he has a long and bright fLiture before him. 

400 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Considering his short connection with the turf, few 
riders have made a more favoi'abie impression than 




CHARLES F. GARRIGAN 



Charles F. Garrigan. He does not ride as frequently as 
some others, but is especially noted foi his reliability and 
caution. Born in 1874. on Staten Island, he has had 
the advantage of a thorough schooling, his studies con- 
tinuing until he was nineteen years of age. Then, in 
i8c)5, he entered the stable of the Burridge Brothers as 
an exercise bov- His aptness became appaient. and 
within one vear he made his tirst trial as a rider, having 
a mount on Sui'geon. which horse he brought through a 
big bunch to a place. Afterward he lode The Baroness. 
Samaritan. Corn Cob. Emma and otheis. winning with 
Emma at ,o to i. beating Gutta Percha and others, and 
winning with The Baroness at a mile and a half. 

In addition to riding for the Burridge Brothers, he has 
ridden for the Goughacres .Stable and Messrs. W. J. Roche. 
J. V. Elliott. Charles Miller. R. McBride, I). T." Pulsifer 
and others. He has had some notable wins besides 
those already mentioned, especially on Defender and on 
Lochinvar at long odds. On Defender, at a mile, he 
beat Garrison, who rode Mirage, in a drive, by a head. 
He is a jockey with tenacity, intelligence and firm guiding 
power, and whenever he rides can be depended upon not 
to disappoint either his principal or the public. He has 
been making an impression with his skilful jockeyship 
during the few years that he has been actively engaged, 
and seems destined to leave behind him, before his careei' 
shall have ended, a very substantial record. 



Although recently in the field, Walter Willhite has 
already attracted attention by his consistent and often 
brilliant woi k. The greater part of his career has been 
in the West, but he has also met with fair success upon 
the tracks of the East in recent seasons. He is a native 
of Illinois, the town of Milan, in that -State, being his 
birthplace. He has been upon the turf only a few years, 
beginning, in iSg=,. as an exercise boy for the stable of 
Mr. William Arnett. who owned Flying Dutchman, 
Dutch Arrow and others. His first win was on Hymenia 
as a two-year old. 

His next engagements wei'e successively with Mr. John 
W. Shaw and Mr. J. E. Madden, his contract with the 
last named horseman lunning over the season of i8g8. 
Besides the tracks of the Fast, Willhite has ridden at 
New Orleans. Louisville, Memphis. Little Rock and Lex- 
ington. His claim to rank among the strong lightweight 
riders was demonstrated by his riding of that great two- 
year old, Hamburg, in the Trial Stakes of iHqy. His 
clever, cool-headed work upon that occasion won for 




WALTER WILLHITE 

him many admirers, who are still watching his career 
with more than ordinary interest and admiration. 



401 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Some of the best judges have gone on record as say- 
ing that Michael F. Hennessey's riding is often a treat to 




— ,/ 





Another one of the joci<eys who have first been noted 
from their connection with the stable of '" Father Bill " 
Daly is Michael Sheedy. He is a Brooklyn, N. Y., boy, 
born April 27, 1878. He enjoyed the advantages of a 
public school education, and did not come into racing 
quite as young as some other boys, being fifteen years 
old when he commenced exercising for Mr. Daly. In 
the spring of 1894, he was put into the saddle by Mr. 
Daly and rode his first race on Restraint for the Cherry 
Diamond Handicap, finishing second to Dr. Rice, thus 
winning distinction from the very outset of his career. 
He also rode Charade, Buckwa, Hornpipe and others, 
his mounts outside of the Daly Stable being for Mr. J. 
R. Keene and others. 

In i8q6, he was engaged to ride principally for Mr, j, 
R. Keene and Mr. George F. Smith, and in the season 
of 1897, extended his field of operations by riding for 
many other owners. In this same season he made the 
acquaintance of the tracks in New Orleans, Chicago, 
Newport, Ky., and elsewhere. He has had the distinc- 
tion of riding W. B., on whom he was never beaten. 
Kinglet. Irish Reel, Aurelian, Chiswick and numerous 
others. He is a good, capable rider, faithful in all that 



M. F. HENNESSEY 

those who appi'eciate good horsemanship. It may also 
be added that his brother jockeys confirm that estimate 
of his powers. Although he was born at Pittsfield, 
Mass., Augustus, i868, Hennessey's life has been largely 
spent in the West. He began his turf career in 188=,, 
when he engaged with Mr, J. B, Haggin, his first mount 
and winning race being on Surname, He spent four 
years with Mr, Haggin. and then engaged with Mr, 
Porter Ashe for two years more. Most of his work 
since he began riding has. however, been done inde- 
pendently. He has had a wide experience and has rid- 
den many of the cracks. 

As already indicated, much of his liding has been on 
the Western tracks, and in that section he has a justly 
high reputation with owners and public. While he has 
made several appearances in the East, they have not been 
wholly fortunate, as he met with accidents each time he 
came to this part of the country, his fall when riding- 
Mamie at the Clifton track, in i8q^, being still remem- 
bered by turfmen and race course followers. In 1897, 
however, he once more came East under engagement to 
ride for Messrs, Burns & Waterhouse, and fully sus- 
tained his reputation by his excellent work. 




^ 



MICHAEL SHEEDY 

he undertakes, and is solid, rather than brilliant, in his 
riding. His skill is frequently noticed. 



402 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



One of the biiofht youno; men who have come from 
h'eland is Michael Shannon, a capable lightweight, who 
has been in the saddle since iSqs. He was bom in Lim- 
erick, and came to the United States to seek his fortune 
in i8qi. His first engagement in connection with the 
turf was in i8c)^, when he began as exercise boy with 
John Huffman. He had his first mount on John Cohen, 
and was notably successful with his first winning 
mount, which was on First Deal, for with that horse he 
won two straight races. He had a " leg up " on Bromo 
when that horse won his maiden race, and his achieve- 
ment upon that occasion was of moi'e than ordinary 
moment to him. 

His work in the saddle attracted the attention of Frank 
Regan, who was much impressed with the possibilities 
that lay in the boy and signed a three years' contract for 
him to ride the horses in his stable. His work for Mr. 
Regan has been of a good chaiactei' and sufficiently suc- 
cessful to show that he is a jockey of abundant merit. 
He has ridden and won very cleverly some important 
races. Having a fairly good geneial education, lie has 
acquired an excellent knowledge of horses, and displays 
fine judgment when riding. He is painstaking and 
careful, and is constantly on the lookout to gather 



The boys to whom "Father Bill" Daly has given 
their first instruction would constitute a large regiment. 





ALFRED H. WAPSHIRE 




MICHAEL SHANNON 

new points of value that may be useful to himself or 
to his employers, and is c^Liite likely to advance rapidly. 



Many of them have won distinction in their after years 
and have never hesitated to give due credit to their early 
training. Comparatively few. however, have remained 
for any considerable length of time in the stable of their 
preceptor, for their ability seems very quickly to have 
attracted the attention of other owners, who have held 
out tempting offers to them. Now and then, however, 
there have been those satisfied to remain with the stable 
in which they were first brought out, and whose success 
has been coincident with the success of that establish- 
ment. 

A notable example of the value of the training secured 
in the Daly Stable is seen in the person of Alfred H. 
Wapshire. Once a Daly boy, he has always been a 
Daly boy. In fact, he has become almost a permanent 
fixture in that stable. Born in London, England, March 
8, 1878, Wapshire was brought to the United States 
when he was a child of only two years of age. He 
received a good education in the public schools, and after- 
ward applied himself to the trade of bookbinding. He 
was sixteen years of age when he became connected 
with the stable of Mr. Daly. There he exercised horses 
for a year and a half and had his first mount on Golden 
Gate at Brighton Beach. He has ridden such horses as 
Arabian, Pearl Song, General Maceo, Emotional. Volley, 
Rifler, St. Vincent. Rotterdam and others, and has won 
on Dr. Jim, Ortoland and others. Besides riding for Mr. 
Daly, he has had many outside mounts. 



403 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Not m;iny eminent horsemen have come out of Kan- 
sas, but now and then the history of the turf has re- 
corded some individuals from that part of the country 
who have done their part in the active work of racing. 
Wiiham Vincent, the lightweight jockey, is one of this 
small class. He was born in 1873 at Big Springs, Kan., 
and the early part of his career in connection with racing 
was passed in the West. The first stable connection 
that lie iiad was with W. F. Cross in 1892, for one year. 
So quickly did he learn the art of jockeyship, that Mr. 
Cross trusted him with several mounts, among them 
Buckthoin and Fred Kno.x. His good form attracted 
attention, and the following year he was engaged to 
ride for Edward Logan. 

During the season o( 1S94, he rode several hundred 
races, of which number he won about fifty, half of them 
being on Venture and Starlight. The next year, he was 
engaged with H. D. Bellew, for whom he rode winning 
races on Granite, Hopedale, W. T. Ellis and others. 
Albert Bellew, a brother of his previous employer, en- 
gaged him for the season of i8q6, and he also had out- 
side mounts. Continuing with Mr. Bellew in 1807, he 
was still successful with the horses of that stable, princi- 
pally Aunt Jane, Madeline and Hattie Blue. Illness p''e- 
vented him from riding during the latter part of the year, 
but his I'ecord during the two seasons that he was with 
Mr. Bellew was very satisfactory. More recently, he 
has been engaged with Senator Timothy D. Sullivan. 
His riding weight is c)'^ pounds. His success upon the 



Fortunate in his birth and earlv training for one who 
has a racing career in view, William Valentine seems 





WILLIAM VINCENT 




*•'- '«» 




WILLIAM VALENTINE 



Eastern tracks is looked forward to with expectation by 
those familiar with his career in the West. 



destined to long maintain the remembrance of the family 
name in connection with the turf. His father, Mr. John 
H. Valentine, has been associated with racing for 
twenty-five veais as an owner and trainer, and it was 
natural that the son should follow in the footsteps of 
his father. In fact, his entire racing career has been 
with his father's stable. Born in New York City, in 
1883, he entered upon work as exercising boy in 1892, 
and kept at that employment for the ensuing four years. 
It was in 189O that he rode his first race, at the Spring 
Meeting on the Aqueduct Course, and he finished third 
on Helen H. 11. Following that he went the same 
season to Windsor, Ont., where he won seventeen 
races out of the sixty mounts that he had, securing a 
place at the same time in nearly all the others. 

Then he went to New Orleans and was two times 
first and four times second out of the twenty races in 
which he was engaged. He met with an accident at 
New Orleans, but at the Spring Meeting at Windsor, 
Can., in 1897, was again in the saddle and success- 
ful in winning a fair number of the races in which he 
started. At Detroit the same year, he did some good 
riding, and also at Newport, Ky. Next he went to 
Michigan to ride at the Highland Pai'k Meeting, and 
there continued successful, Lintil he met with another 
fall, which laid him up. Most of his mounts have been 
for his father's stable, but outside owners have also 
secured his services to their advantage. 



404 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




Attention h:is been repeatedly c;illed in these p;iges to From iiis boyhood up the life of John I.. Coyle has 

the many active turtmen who, in recent years, have been passed as a jockey, in which profession he has won 

deserved recognition. He was born in Baltimore, Md., 
October i, 1876, and has been among horses froin his 
earliest days. In 1893, when seventeen years of age, 
he engaged to exercise horses for Mr. Philip J. Dwyer, 
and, in 1895, rode St. Lawrence II., Monte Carlo 
and other prominent performers. In 1896, he rode 
Inheritance and Long Beach, and had peculiar good 
fortune with the latter horse, who always had a strong 
tendency to sulk. Coyle, however, rode him success- 
fully, capturing several good races and defeating such 
opponents as St. Maxim and Charade. 

Another good race standing to Coyle's credit was his 
riding of Cassette for Mr. Augustus Clason, defeating 
such a speedy animal as The Winner. Still another 
example of his jockeyship vyas given at Morris Park, 
where, on Tinge, he beat Roundsman and other good 
horses. He also rode W. M. Barrick's Sun Up, at 
Washington, defeating a good field. Coyle is cool- 
headed and clever, and his services have been much in 
request by owners and trainers. His success in the 
saddle has brought him considerable money, which he 
invested in pLirchasing and furnishing a house at Gravesend 
for his mother, to whom he is a devoted son. Latterly, 
Coyle has been riding a great deal upon the courses in 
Canada, and also those in the Northwest, and has not 

VINCENT GARCIA , , t , ,■ , , • 

been seen as frequently on the metropolitan tracks as his 
come out of California, manv of whom have subsequently many admirers have wished. He has always been a hard 
distinguished themselves in all parts of the country, working, faithful lad, and while his work has not been 
even where racing rivalry is the most acute. One of 
the most recent California boys to whom attention has 
been called on the Eastern courses is Vincent Garcia, 
who has already had a good career in the West, and 
seems to be amply justified in aspiring to distinction in 
the best class of lightweights of the present generation. 
He was born in San Francisco, in December, 1876. His 
first employment was in 1SS8, in the stable of Senator 
Leland Stanford. There he began as exercise boy. 
During his three years employment he was put up to ride 
in several races, and showed marked ability. 

From the Stanford Stable he went to that of Mr. Porter 
Ash, for whom he rode some two years, principally on 
Chipman, Floodgate and others of a similar stamp, and 
winning some seventy-five out of the entire number of 
races in which he entered. Next he rode one season for 
Mr. E. F. Smith, with not less success than had charac- 
terized his work before. After one year with Mr. C. 
Pallet, he started as a free lance, and was successful until 
he was taken ill and forced to retire for the season. During 
the winter of 1897-98, he was in form again, winning as 
before. Now he aims to test his fortunes on the Eastern 
tracks, and his record justifies bright expectations con- 
cerning his future. 




JOHN L. COYLE 



at all of a "fireworks" character, it has always done 
him credit, and has been generally useful to his employers. 



405 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Among the young men who have only recently come 
forth to sport the silk is William Gee, one of the most 
promising lightweights. He is about seventeen years 
of age and is a native of New York City, having been 
bom in September, 1881. He has been connected with 
horses, however, since 1894, when he entered the 
Morris Stable in charge of R. Wyndham Walden, and 
his work thus far has been entirely in the same connec- 
tion. He was given sound instruction in exercising, 
covering a period of some two years. It was in 1896 that 
he had the opportunity to ride in a race for the first time. 
His mount was The New South. During that season he 
won several races, and was also successful during the 
season of 1897. As the Morris Stable always contains a 
goodly number of first-class horses, it is evident that Gee 
has opportunity before him to achieve distinction. His 
special instruction, while learning to exercise and to ride 
in races has been received direct from Mr. Walden, and 
nothing need be added to that simple statement to show 
that the young.ster has had the best possible schooling. 
He has been a good student, paving strict attention to 
his instructions, and is evidently a close observer 01 



Strict attention to business and absolute reliability have 
made the name of John P. Neumeyer a favorite in the 





WILLIAM GEE 



horses and their riders generally. His light [weight, 
pounds, places him in a very desirable class. 



9=- 



JOHN P. NEUMEYER 

racing world. Born at West Farms. N. Y., in 1870, he 
was on a farm in Westchester County, when in 1884, 
he was appienticed to the Messrs. Dwyer Brothers until 
he was twenty-one and remained with them for 
eight years. Even as an exercise boy he was noted for skill " 
and care, and was the only lad who could gallop Han- 
over and Tremont. His llrst mount in public was in 
1885, on Petersburg, at Monmouth Park, and the first 
race he won was on Leclare, at Jerome Park. He won 
the United States Hotel Stakes, at Saratoga, on Ballston, 
beating The Bard by a head, and also won a clever race 
on Inspector B., at Sheepshead Bay, winning consider- 
able money for himself 

When the Dwyer Brothers' establishment was divided, 
Neumeyei' remained with Mr.PhilipJ. Dwyer and acted as 
foreman under Trainer McGarry. In the autumn of 
1892, he rode for Mr. C. Cornehlsen. In 1893, he rode 
for the Baden Stable, at Guttenberg, with great success. 
In 1894, he rode two races on Charade, and in one of 
them was beaten by Clifford by only a head in fast time. 
He rode Winona for Mr. F. D. Beard, and was successful 
with that mare, and also at one time rode under Mr. 
james G. Rowe and Mr. Frank McCabe. In iSgs. he 
owned and rode Galloping King, winning several good 
races. Latterly he has been riding for Mr. Charles Gor- 
man. Neumeyer has found riding exceedingly profitable 
and is mai'ried and h,is an attractive home at Gravesend. 



406 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



For more than a quarter of a centuiy the American 
turf has been favored by the services of English jockeys. 
In the early part of the period, American owners brought 
to this country English jockeys of ability and distinction, 
some of whom have since become famous as trainers and 
owners, in later years these importations have been less 
fret^uent owing to the development of American jockeys. 
At the same time the turf in the United States has con- 
tinued to profit by the services of jockeys of English 
birth, who, however, having come to this country early 
in life, are in training and associations more American 
than English. 

In this class is William W. Pickering, who was born 
in London, August 17, 1872. After completing his 
school life, he played on the stage in some of the princi- 
pal theatres until he was twelve years old. In Decem- 
ber, 1888, he came to the United States and attached him- 
self to the stable of Mr. A. J. Cassatt, starting in the 
usual occupation of exeicising. When Mr. Cassatt sold 
his stable, he engaged with Mr. Louis Stuart, for whom 
he has ridden almost exclusively. Squander was his 
first mount in a race at Linden, N. J. Afterward he rode 
Schuykill, Pickwick and other good horses, bringing 
them in frequent winners. In 1897. he rode Ein two 
races, winning at odds of so to 1 and 30 to i. During 



A favorable start 
iockev, William Scl 



in life was accorded to the young 
immel. who rides under the name 




W. W. PICKERING 

the winter he has been engaged at Mr. Stuart's stock 
farm at Oceanport, N. J., where he is very popular. 




V 



; 



WILLIAM SCHIMMEL 

of Morris. He was born in MadisonviUe, Ky., Decem- 
ber 4, 1872, and the mere mention of the word Ken- 
tucky in this connection should be ample, as showing 
full justification for his career as a horseman. He was 
fifteen years of age when he began exercising horses in 
the stable of Mr. James Murphy, and he promptly showed 
that he possessed the qualities that are necessary tor the 
making of a good jockey. When he was placed upon 
Victrix for his first mount, he showed himself self- 
possessed and capable. After that, he was favored with 
other mounts, and acquitted himself well. His first win- 
ning race was on Jakey Tom, a horse that then belonged 
to Sam Bryant, owner of Proctor Knott. 

As an exercise boy. Morris was noted as the cham- 
pion of the United States in i8qi. Some of the good 
runners of this era have been handled by him. Among 
others, he had Terra Cotta, Egmont. Huntress, Lorenzo, 
Almont and Delmar. He broke and rode Typhoon II. 
in all the preliminary work of that great horse from the 
time that he was a yearling. As a jockey, he has ridden 
upon all the important courses of America and Canada, 
and has won many races, especially several stakes at 
Chicago and New Orleans. For a long time he was con- 
nected with the stable of Messrs. Bromley & Co., and 
was one of the best employees of that establishment. 
His work upon Typhoon 11. in preparation for the races 
in which that champion engaged, was of a particularly 
valuable character, and stamped him not only as a good 
rider, but also as a proficient trainer. 



407 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Horsemanship in Edward C. Moser is largely a matter 
of inheritance, his father being well known in trotting 




There is an old saying that Englishmen inherit their 
talent for the turf, and therefore the functions of riding 
come as second nature to them. The striking example 
of the proof of this statement appears in the career of 
the Evanses, father and son. The elder Evans was a 
famous rider and trainei' in the Old World, and in this 
country did splendid work in the saddle for the senior 
Mr. Belmont, and afterward for Messrs. J. R. Keene, 
D. D. Withers, A. J. Cassatt and Pierre Lorillard. Later 
he was with the Messrs. Dwyer Brothers. 

George Evans, jr., was born in England, in 1874. and 
coming to this country, entered the stable of Mr. George 
L. Lorillard, being engaged as an exercise boy. Afterward 
he was associated in the same capacity with Mr. Charles 
Littlelleld and also with Mr. Thomas Winters, of Cali- 
fornia. After a two-years' service with Mr. Porter Ashe, 
he became a rider for the Burridge Brothers, and then 
for Messrs. Gideon & Daly, fmally joining the staff of 
Mr. John Ferguson, of New Jersey. During his active 
riding career he was recognized as a popular and valu- 
able adjunct to any stable with which he was connected. 
He wholly deserved the reputation that he won as one 
of the most conscientious and honest riders known 
upon the turf in his day, and in every event in which he 
rode the public put implicit faith in his methods, straight- 
forwardness and professional techniciue. Latterly be- 



EDWARD C. MOSER 

circles, while the son at an early age leained to ride by ex- 
ercising trotters. He was born in New York City. Jan. 
S, 1873, and attended school there and in Parkville, L. 1. 
In 1887, he engaged with William C. Daly and rode 
races for the stable after being only three months with 
it. his weight at that time being 80 pounds. With Mr. 
Daly he remained for two years. Among other mounts 
he rode Civil Service, Bronzamart, Lizzie and Glory. In 
1888, at (Clifton, N. J., he won the Christmas Handicap 
with Glory, then two years old. 

He also rode for Green B. Morris, and in the opening 
year at Morris Park, he bi'oke the -'4 -mile record on Tip- 
staff. He also rode King Idle, Barrister and others, and 
in 1890, on Madstone, beat his old mount Tipstaff and 
Bella B. He was for a time in the employ of Messrs. 
Dwyer Brothers. Again he returned to Mr. Daly, and 
also rode for Mr. Nathan Straus. He was taken ill 
while reducing his weight and was forced to rest, and 
when he recovered began driving .trotters with good 
success. He made a record of 2.2']}i with Try, 2.28i| 
with Stealaway, 2.28^ with Will Goster. 2.31 '4' with 
McLaughlin Maid, all at the Parkway track, and one of 
2. 30 with Iron Master, at Mineola. The year of 1897, how- 
ever, found him again in the saddle riding thoi'oughbreds. 




-««««^ 




GEORGE EVANS, JR 

coming heavy, he has relinquished riding, to the regret 
of manv owneis and a large circle of turf admirers. 



40S 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



Born ;it Eatontown, N. J., August s, 18711, in the im- 
mediate vicinitv of the old and new Monmouth i^ark 
race courses, Asher Waller inevitably became acc^uainted 
with race horses and imbued with a passion for turf life. 
As early as 1891, when he was twelve years of age, he 
made a contract for three years to serve the stable of 
Mr. Charles Littlefield. He is an intelligent boy, exceed- 
ingly bright and capable, and lltted into his new life 
quickly and smartly. He soon acc]uired an excellent 
knowledge of horses and was c]ualilled to ride before he 
had been long connected with Mr. Littletleld's stable. 

His first mount was on Bombazette and his first win 
on Chic. His services have not been confined ex- 
clusively to Mr. Littlefield, however, for. although he 
has ridden for him continuously, he h.is also been per- 
mitted to accept mounts for other owners, and his work 
has been highly esteemed by them. So far as weight 
is concerned, he is one of the most useful riders in his 
class. He has ridden as low as 83 pounds and can 
ride now at from 97 to 102 pounds. He is a well 
built boy, exceedingly intelligent, has a good seat and 
a fair pair of hands. He has been trained in a good 
school, and during his career has given abundant evi- 



After attending school 
his childhood, William 



for a few years in the days of 
Porter made his practical ac- 





WILLIAM PORTER 




ASHER WALLER 

dence of his ability. Should he meet with no unlbre- 
seen difficulties he has a bright futuie before him. 



quaintance with horses in i8qi. He is a native of Lex- 
ington, Ky., having been born July 11, 1877. His first 
stable connection was with Edward Brown, with 
whom he went first to Chicago, afterward to Saratoga, 
and then back to Kentucky. The first season gave him 
a good experience with some very excellent horses, and 
again, in the spring of 1892, he came East with the same 
stable. The following season he was engaged to ride 
for Mr. E. J. Baldwin at Latonia. His first mount was 
El Reno, upon whom he finished third, but his next at- 
tempt was more successful, for, upon the same horse, he 
came in at the head of the field. He also rode Lady 
Bess and others. 

In subsequent years he rode for Messrs. W. Showalter, 
William M. Wallace and Albert Cox. For the Wallace 
Stable he was the first to win a race on The Commoner, 
at three-quarters of a mile, in 1 minute, 14 seconds. He 
also rode Oracle, The Winner, and others of less prom- 
inence. Coming East in 1896, he engaged with Mr. 
Foxhall Keene, and in 1897 with Mr. William Lands- 
berg. For the Laridsberg Stable he has ridden several 
good races, particularlv on Storm King, with whom he 
has won twice and come in second twice. He has also 
ridden occasionally for " Father Bill " Daly, among his 
mounts in that stable being Volley and Tinkler. 



409 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Silns Veitch, the well-known cross-country jockey, 
was born in the Province of Ontario, November is, 1872, 
and received a sound common school education. His 
(Irst permanent connection with horses and racing began 
in 1886, his position being that of an exercise boy in the 
stable of Mr. J. E. Seagram, the prominent Canadian 
turfman. A similar engagement followed with Mr. Will- 
iam Hendrie, and then with Mr. James Shields. 

His first mount on the race track was at Toronto, 
when he rode Wild Thorn, and since then he has been 
constantly engaged as a jockey, and has appeared at all 
the race courses in this country, having had mounts for 
most of the leading owners of jumpers. Among the 
prominent horses which Veitch rode in his early career 
were Gladiator, Pat Oakley, St. John and Sam Morris, 
though the list could be made more lengthy. He pos- 
sesses a daring and effective style of riding, and has a 
rare faculty of judging pace in a huidle race. In 1893, 
he became attached to the stable of Mr. J. M. Crosby, of 
Boston, who owned Southerner, Marcus, Fugitive, San 
Joaquin, and Alchemist. The three years from 1894 to 
1896, inclusive, he was again engaged by Mr. Hendrie, 
who had been one of his early employers, and for the 
season of 1897 contracted to ride the notable horses be- 
longing to Mr. Robert Hooper, of Boston, which string 
included such animals of high degree in their specialty, 
as Duke of Abercorn, who was killed in a race at Morris 
Park; Kilkenny, Tidman, Waltzer, Diversion, and seve- 
ral others. Possessing a mastery of all the arts connected 



In former days, many of the most prominent jockeys 
were not only born in the old countiy, but acquired 




f 



SILAS VEITCH 




RICHARD ENGLISH 



with cross-counti'y ridmg, Veitch will doubtless continue 
to be heard from frequently for many seasons. 



their professional skill upon the race courses there. At 
the present time, however, few such instances can be 
cited among the ranks of our leading riders. Richard 
English is one of the exceptions, and has had a remark- 
able experience upon the turf in both England and 
France, having ridden there for some of the greatest 
owners before he came to America, and established his 
position as one of the best cross-country riders. Born at 
Cheltenham. England, October 51. 1871, English re- 
ceived an ordinary school education. His first actual ex- 
perience was as an exercise boy for Mr. Richard March, 
a prominent owner, who entered his horses at races in 
both England and France. He remained with this stable 
for five years, during which time he rode such horses as 
Searles II., Lockjaw and others, and appeared in . e 
saddle at the leading tracks, both English and French. 
Leaving this employment, he was next engaged by 
Baron Rothschild. 

In 1891, English came to America, riding for Mr. S. S. 
Howland, and at once found his ability recognized. He 
won a number of races on Judge Morrow, Eldorado, 
Eclipse, Mogul, and horses of similar calibre, his services 
being in constant demand. He is now engaged by 
Messrs. F. R. and T. Hitchcock, who have one of the 
largest and best stables of jumpers ever seen on the 
American turf. A marked characteristic of English is 
that in all his experiences as a rider over the jumps 
he has never been hurt, although there are few jockeys 
who have taken part in so many cross-country races. 



410 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Tennessee gave James Owens to the turf. Tliis 
jockey was born at Nashville, November 6, 1875. His 




Born in Ireland, July 16, 1877, only the early days of 
Eugene Finiiigan were passed in his native land. His 
parents came to the United States in 18N3 and brought 
him with them. His schooling was continued here, and 
he applied himself to his books until he was thirteen 
years of age, acquiring a good general education. He 
was more than ordinarily well equipped when he 
branched out for himsell, and made his first acquaint- 
ance with thoroughbreds in connection with the stable 
of Mr. John Hynes. For that owner he rode in 1890, 
and gained such an experience that he had no further 
doubt in regard to his future. 

Leaving the Hynes Stable he next engaged to ride for 
Mr. Charles Sanders, with whom he was associated for 
some time before he become connected with the stable 
of Mr. Frank Regan, who was his next employer. As 
a matter of record it is interesting to note that his first 
winning mount was on Miss Gallop. For Mr. Regan he 
rode two years. He is classed as a good steeplechase 
jockey, his first mount on a jumper being on Hulbertand 
his first win on Mr. Dunlop. After considerable success 
in New Orleans, he came East and rode for Mr. Francis 
D. Beard, of the Erie Stable, and latterly for Mr. C. W. 
Stanton on Sir Vassar. For Mr. Stanton he won nearly 
all the races that he rode. Sir Vassar has since been sold 
to Mr. Sydney Paget. Finnigan has a firm seat in the 
saddle, and so conspicuous is he in this respect that his 



JAMES OWENS 



first tun connection was with the Bashford Manor 
Stable. After riding for this stable for some time he ac- 
cepted jfi engagement with Mr. M. F. Uwyer, an alli- 
ance fl" V'fully testified to the excellent standing to which 
he haci" already attained in the estimation of well-posted 
owners. In a special capacity he remained with Mr. 
Dwyer for three years. When the Brooklyn turfman 
made his plans to go to England, Owens, preferring to 
remain in this country, engaged to ride for the well- 
known Western turfman, Mr. J. D. Christie, who was 
th n the owner of that good horse Pactolus. 

Owens' fii'st win was on Cicei'o, and he came in at 
the head of the field in the Flood Stakes. Numerous 
other good stakes in the West have been placed to his 
credit, among them the sensational win on Babv Bill for 
the Athens Stakes, an event that has not yet been for- 
gotten by those who were so fortunate as to see it. He 
has ridden on every race course of prominence in the 
United States and has been equally conspicuous over the 
jumps as on the flat. He is a good steeplechase jockey, 
of excellent skill, quiet and unassuming in manner, 
but as full of courage as any rider in his class. 
Recently he has been under engagement to Mr. Samuel 
C. Hildreth, but was also called upon to ride for out- 
side owners, who fully appreciate his merit. 




EUQENE FINNIGAN 



appearance has often been commented upon in more than 
ordinary terms of praise by the race going public. 



411 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Steeplechase jockeys have not, until lately, been in such 
demand as riders on the flat, but they have been found 
useful in their particular line and especially when, 
as is the case of some of them, they can adapt themselves 
to both styles of riding. The career of the jockey who 
devotes himself largely to steeplechase riding is of some- 
thing more than ordinary interest. Perhaps it should 
attract exceptional attention from the fact that a rider in 
this class is one of a few rather than one of many, as is 
the case with those who confine themselves entirely to 
riding on the flat. 

With a good reputation as a steeplechase jockey, J. B. 
Slack has also acquired fame quite as much by his 
achievements on the flat. He has been riding for nearlv 
a dozen years, and during that length of time has been 
connected with several important stables. For two 
years he was with Mr. Green B. Morris, for one season 
with Mr. J. DeLong, for eighteen months with Mr. C. D. 
McCoy, for one season with Mr. J. J. McCafferty, for 
three years with Mr. G. R. Tompkins and for one season 
with Mr. R. Bradley. He has also ridden in numerous 
races for other owners, who have never neglected to 
avail themselves of his services as often as he has been 
disengaged. A large proportion of the events that he 
has ridden in he has won. Recently he has been con- 



From the flat to steeplechase riding seems in a fair way 
to be one of the notable movements in contemporaneous 




W ^^ Oi 







# 



J. B. SLACK 



nected with Messrs. E. L. &J. T. Smith, the well-known 
Western owners, who have several good performers. 



CHARLES BROWN 

jockey lite. The increasing call for steeplechase jockevs 
has led to the keeping of some men in the saddle who 
might otherwise have given up the profession on account 
of increasing weight. Charles Brown, who has latterly 
come into this class, is a native of Utica, N. Y., where he 
was born in May 1876, and where he still has a home, 
although his racing headquaiteis are principally at 
Sheepshead Bay. He began with race horses in 1888, 
in the stable of Mr. A. E. Gates. There he remained for 
a period of four years, a cii'cumstance that sufficiently 
illustrates his persistency and steadiness and disinclina- 
tion to be shifting from one employer to another. 

After his first year with Mr. Gates he commenced to 
ride and has been steadily in the saddle since that time. 
For three years he was riding for Mr. Gates. At that 
time he was a lightweight, weighing about 90 pounds, 
but nevertheless rode jumping races, as well as on the 
flat, already displaying marked qualifications for the 
former style. Latterly he has ridden for Messrs. T. 
Danaher, Mr. N. S. Hall, A. M. Hopkins and P. T. Chinn, 
besides accepting occasional outside mounts. His most 
recent engagement has been with Mr. C. Gorman. His 
present riding weight is 125 pounds and he expects to 
achieve a degree of success in steeplechase riding which 
will quite equal that which has previously distinguished 
his jockeyship on the flat. 



412 



ai\ii-:rican 



■URF 



Rorn in Irehind. P. J. Mclnerney has had as wide and 
varied an experience as anv joci<ev now connected with 
the American turf. His hirtii occuried September 15, 
1871. In 1885, before he had attained the age ol four- 
teen, he began exercising in tiie stable of WilHam 
Reedy. He profited much by tiiis, and v\hcn lie came 
to enter upon the life of a jocl<ey, was in good shape 
for the career. His first mount was on The Rose and 
liis first win was on Ravensteen. This successful race 
was in Australia, whither he had gone, attracted by the 
opportunities oflered in that country. In Australia he 
remained three and a half years, and participated in some 
of the important racing contests there. 

When he came to America in 1891, he first rode on the 
flat. His first win was on Profligate at Chicago. For 
two years he rode on the flat and then began riding 
over the sticks. In steeplechase riding he has attained 
to considerable eminence, but in the autumn of 181^7 
had the misfortune to fall off the favorite in a race. 
During his career in this country he has been under 
contract to Mr. N. S. Hall and to Messrs. Sumner & 
Co. Among his important winnings have been two 
stakes in California, two stakes in Chicago, four stakes 
in the East, and many other good races. He can ride at 
110 pounds and is likely to be seen many times in the 



When Timothy H. Murphy began to learn about race 
horses he was a youngster ol twelve years of age. His 




p. J. MclNERNEY 




TIMOTHY H. MURPHY 



future. He is a strong, graceful rider, and makes an 
attractive appearance in his mounts. 

413 



birth occurred November 26, 1875, and he first found 
employment in the stable of Messrs. W. Hendrie & Co. 
His term of service in that establishment extended over 
three years and gave him abundant opportunity to learn 
every detail of the profession to which he proposed to 
devote himself While connected with the Messrs. 
Hendrie he had his first opportunity to ride in a race and 
also made his first winning for the same stable. Sub- 
sequently he rode frequently and won several races, 
especially during the last years of his apprenticeship. 
When he had graduated, as it were, from his school, he 
took an engagement as jockey with the Empire Stable, 
for which he rode two seasons, meeting with fair suc- 
cess, and doing full justice to the horses on which he was 
mounted. 

Acquiring too much flesh for lightweight riding, he 
turned his attention to riding jumpers. His first engage- 
ment of this character was with Mr. Andrew Blakely, 
with whom he was engaged for two years. During this 
time he won some forty races out of the one hundred 
and twenty in which he started. Following this ex- 
perience he accepted an offer to ride for Mr. Edward 
Corrigan, of Chicago, and, during the season of i8t)6, 
won for that owner something like thirty races out of 
one hundred mounts. Returning again to the stable of 
his foimer employer, Mr. Blakely, he had in the years 
immediately following equally good success, riding on 
Snowdown, Pearsall, Hats Off and others. His 
riding weight is I2S pounds, and he is a good, solid, 
forcible rider, with excellent control over the horses 
whose fortunes he chrects. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Best known as " Spider" Anderson, George B. Ander- 
son first achieved reputation as a rider on the flat and 




GEORGE B. ANDERSON 

came into the tirst class. Afterwaid, as he gained in 
weight, he began riding jumpers and has latterly become 
proficient in that style of riding. He is a native of Mary- 
land, having been born in Baltimore, in 1871. Early in 
life he was engaged with Fred Carter in the stable of 
Messrs. Davis & Hall. For this establishment he rode 
for a considerable time and became well known for his 
integrity, his cleverness and his general success. 

Some of the most exacting ownei's had their attention 
called to him. and his services were in demand for the 
best stables. Among other owneis who employed him 
were Messrs. August Belmont, Sr., D. 1). Withers. Will- 
iam L. Scott and Byron McClelland. To recapitulate 
the names of all the great horses that he rode would be 
to make a long and imposing record. Especially he had 
the "leg up" on Badge in that horse's important races, 
and while in the employ of Messrs. Belmont and W. L. 
Scott, won some of the most noted stake events of the 
American turf Recently he has been engaged with Mr. 
William C. Daly, with a special view to steeplechase riding. 

His success in meeting the high expectations of the dis- 
tinguished and exacting owners for whom he has ridden 
in the years past is the completest testimony that could 
be presented as showing his general reliability, trust- 
worthiness and capacity. In the steeplechase riding, 
which seems now to be coming very much into vogue 
among the better class of turfmen, and with the fashion- 
able public as well, Anderson should, in the very nature 
of things and considering his long experience, take an 
active and prominent part. 



From Kentucky came Bud Haggins, who has ridden 
well on the Hat and also in the steeplechase class. He 
was born in July. 1870, and made the acquaintance 01 
race horses in 1881. At that time he entered the employ 
of Mr. P. West and for one year was engaged as exer- 
cising boy. It took him only a short time to learn how 
to ride, and his employer gave him a number of mounts 
before his first year was up. On Major Lee he won two 
races. Being offered a position to ride for Mr. Henry 
Colston, who had at that time several good horses in 
his stable, Haggins allied himself to the fortunes of that 
owner and was successful in winning a few good races. 
His next engagement was with Mr. William Stoops, in 
1884, the most prominent horses of that stable being 
Little Fred, with whom he won fifteen straight races, 
and Templar, whom he rode in six winning finishes. 

For a second season, in 1883, he rode for Mr. Stoops 
with quite as good success as in 1884. Next he rode 
for Messrs. Bloom & Co., and was seen on such horses 
as Little Minch and Jim Gore. Returning to the stable 
of Mr. Stoops the following season, he again served his 
employer well, his most notable wins being on Warren- 
ton and Glenbrook, both at the Louisville Spring Meet- 




I 



BUD HAQQINS 



ing. He has also ridden latterly for Mr. Frank Seaman. 
His riding weight at present is about 1 12 pounds. 



414 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Hurdle riding demands even more from the jockey 
than racing on the flat, while the enjoyment by the public 
of the former variety of sport depends as much on the 
riders as the horses. It is the distinction of James J. 
Mara that he is one of the capable American jockeys who 
have made steeplechasing their specialty. He is cer- 
tainly a daring rider, but joins to this a needful amount of 
skill and coolness that have had much to do with the re- 
pute that he has achieved. 

Born March 2b, 1866, in New York City, Mara was 
educated in the public schools and in 1881 entered the 
establishment of Mr. Pierre Lorillard, where he served 
under Messrs. Anthony Taylor and Matthew Byrnes. He 
iie.xt worked for the Dwyer Brothers, when Mr. James 
G. Rowe had charge of their string, and while filling the 
engagement his chief duty was to exercise Runnymede 
and Miss Woodford. After that he was employed by 
Mr. John Connelly, and in iS8s began to ride over timber 
for Mr. M. Danaher, thus taking up the line in which he 
has distinguished himself. Successful from the outset 
and showing remarkable aptitude for his work, he ob- 
tained mounts on many noted jumpers, and in 1887 won 
the Grand National Steeplechase at Cedarhurst, on Major 
Pickett. Among other horses on which he rode win- 
ning races have been Buckra, Duke of Westmoreland. 
Flushing, Midgley, The Rat, on which he took four 
straight races; Mars Chan, and in fact all the cracks of 
their class in the East. He has also visited California, 
where he rode races for Mr. W. S. Hobart and Mr. W, 
O'B. McDonough. On the California track he won six 
races out of nine stalls on Berna. More recently he was 



Steeplechase riders are not so numerous in this country 
that they crowd each other. Nevertheless, the few who 





i 



JAMES J. MARA 



engaged with the string of jumpers owned by Mr. Fred- 
erick Gebhard, and won many races for that gentleman. 



LESLIE H. DUNLAP 

are adepts in this style ot riding have shown themselves 
to be very skilful. Leslie H. Dunlap, one of this class, 
is a native of Ireland, where he was born in 1868. His 
entire professional life has been passed on this side of the 
Atlantic, upon the courses in the United States and 
Canada and with the jumpers he has played a leading 
part. He was but fifteen years of age when Mr. John 
Rucker engaged him as an exercise boy and later on he 
rode that gentleman's horses in their races. 

Three years with Mr. Rucker and two years with Mr. 
Edward Corrigan brought him to the beginning of his 
career as a steeplechase jockey. In this capacity he was 
employed successfully by Messrs. Adolph Gates, William 
Hendrie, Nathaniel Dyment, W. C. Hayes. J. P. Dawes 
and others, his most recent engagement being with the 
last named gentleman. He has trained and ridden some 
of the best over-timber horses in this country, among 
them Pat Oakley, Flip Flap, Major Pickett, Hercules, Bob 
Thomas, Winslow and a host of others. Sooner or later 
nearly all the great steeplechase stake events have fallen 
to him, as a result of his courageous, skilful riding, 
among them the Walker Cup at Hamilton, Ont., the In- 
dependent Stakes at Sheepshead Bay and the Stock Yard 
Stakes at Chicago. He has also been the owner of Fred 
Burlew, Pay or Play and Waterproof. 



415 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Since in racing it is essential to be able to ride at 
certain weights, that jockey is most valuable who can 
ride at less than lOO pounds than are those whose 
weight exceeds that mark. The lightweight has one in- 
estimable advantage over his heavier rivals, since he can 
carry sufl^icient metal to make up the deficient weight 
whenever necessary, and is not under strain in being 
compelled to reduce his natural weight. Among the 
lightweight riders who have this important advantage 
John Donnelly has had an excellent reputation. He was 
born at Port Richmond, Pa., in 1878. Beginning his 
turf career in the stable of Mi'. John O'Neil as exercise 
boy. he acquitted himself remarkably well during the 
four years that he remained with that turfman. His good 
form attracted the attention of other horsemen, and 
his services were next sought by that well-known 
owner, Mr. James Shields. In securing Donnelly Mr. 
Shields added a competent assistant to his stable staff, 
for the youngster continued for several seasons to per- 
form very well indeed upon many good horses. His 
riding weight was g^ pounds, and he made a satisfactory 
appearance in important events. He was seen on such 
horses as Rosebud. Mt. MacGregor, Colonel Wheeler, 
Salisbury, Set Fast, Rosedale and others. To his credit 
have been placed the honors of many races which he 
won by his clever horsemanship. Although his career 
has not been long or eventful when compared with that 



Among the lightweight jockeys of the present time 
Henry J. Harris is included. He was born in Richmond, 




JOHN DONNELLY 




of some others, he has proved himsell to be a very 
capable and useful rider and a great public favorite. 



HENRY J. HARRIS 

Va., September 0, 1876. Educated in the public schools 
of his native city, he engaged with the stable of Mr. R. 
Bradley in i8qi. Exercising in that owner's est.iblish- 
ment, and also in that of Mr. J. J. Carroll, he ultimately 
came to riding, being particularly engaged by Mr. 
Andrew Thompson, just previous to the death of that 
well-known horseman. Mr. William Lakeland then 
secured his services, and in the employ of that noted 
turfman Harris continued his career, thus so favorably 
begun. While Mr. Lakeland has had the first call upon 
him. he also has been employed to ride for several other 
prominent stables, winning some good races. 

Among the noted runners on which he has been 
mounted have been Panwav, Eastertide, Concord, De- 
cide, Brighton, Hornpipe and Winged Foot, while it 
would be easy to extend this list to a much greater 
length. He has always had that prime advant.ige of 
light weight to which he has added the admirable c]uali- 
lication of a clear head and good judgment. Although 
he has not been seen frequently in the saddle, his merit 
has not been overlooked by some close observers of 
racing, who express the hope that he may have many 
chances to distinguish himself according to his merit. 
In Mr. Lakeland he has had one of the best instructors 
that the American turf could offer to an ambitious boy, 
and he should profit well by that opportunity. 



416 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



The youngsters Mie crowding so fast for places in the 
saddle these latter days that it is bea;innins; to be a little 




EDWARD WINTER 

difficult to keep track of them. The turf has expanded 
so much, both as respects the number of race courses 
that are in successful operation anii the number of 
horses that are annually in training and running, that an 
unprecedented demand for good lightweight riders has 
sprung up, and has so enlarged that the supply, no mat- 
ter how generous that may be, does not fully keep 
pace. Although not all of these lads succeed in pre- 
eminently distinguishing themselves, and become a 
Sloan or a Taral, most of them prove to be capable and 
useful. There is always a place for the first-class rider, 
and there is also abundant demand tor those who may 
be able to take lank in only second or third place. 
Fortunate it is, however, that all these lads hopefully as- 
pire to a foremost position. There are few of them v»hose 
ability and training do not justify such aspiration. 

It becomes interesting to keep watch of this small 
army of boys. There is no fear that, however numerous 
they may be in numbers, the turf can ever have too 
many of them. Another one of these newcomers is Ed- 
ward Minter. who was born at Meldale, Ky., and began 
exercising horses at Latonia. He has been connected 
with the stables of Messrs. George Webb, B. Moran, A. 
Newman and others, and for one season was employed 
by Mr. M. F. Dwyer. He has shown great proficiency, 
and is regarded as a very promising lightweight. His 
career has been altogether in the West, but he is likely 
to be soon seen on the Eastern tracks. 



In the course of his professional career, John F. Barrett 
has had a wide experience, and has gained a deservedly 
high reputation. He was born in Jersey City, N. J., 
April 24, 1874, and attended school in that place and in 
New York City. His racing life began by exercising 
horses for Mr. Jeter Walden, where he acquired con- 
siderable knowledge of the art of riding the thorough- 
bred, and soon after entered upon his first regular en- 
gagement, which was with Mr. Edward Corrigan. In 
1888, on the Monmouth Park track, he had his maiden 
mount on the mare Katie, but the animal was not placed. 
In 1890, he rode his first winning mount on Aunt Jane, 
owned by Mr. William Lovell. 

After this, his progress was rapid and satisfactory. He 
was employed by many owners of prominence, among 
whom were Messrs. H. Eugene Leigh, W. B. Haskins, 
T. D. Carter, S. W. Parker, and by the noted trainer, 
Mr. Thomas F. Barrett, who, it should be said, is his 
own cousin. His reputation as a rider was established 
long ago, and his record includes the winning of many 
stakes at the leading tracks all over the country. He is 
still young, and has had a record that has attracted the 
leading owners of horses. He was not long ago engaged 
to ride for Mr. Levy, of Cincinnati, who had some good 
performers in his stable. In the ordinary course of 





JOHN F. BARRETT 



events 
should 



Barrett has belore him many years in which he 
be able to bestride the pigskin with success. 



417 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Jockeys who have hnd ten or a dozen years of active life 
in the saddle may fairly be set down as substantial fix- 
tures in the turf world. In such a class one would nat- 
urally place William Penn, who has been so long attached 
to the stable of the Messrs. Morris, that he must be re- 
garded as one of the permanent fixtui'es of that establish- 
ment. He was born in New Orleans, July i8, 1873. 
When he was a boy fourteen years of age, he found em- 
ployment in the Morris Stable, where he naturally began 
as an exercise boy. When he started to ride in races he 
weighed only about seventy-two pounds and soon 
showed himself a very skilful lightweight. For the 
Messrs. Morris, as well as other owners, he has won a 
great many races. First he had the mount in affairs of 
lesser consequence, but his success was such that it 
early gained him recognition and the opportunity to ride 
in moi'e important laces where he was further success- 
ful. His engagements took him throughout the coun- 
try, and he has long been a familiar figure on all the prin- 
cipal tracks of the United States. His present riding 
weight is about 107 pounds. He is a strong rider and a 
master horseman, able to manage the most obstreperous 
animals and to get out of his mounts the best of which 
they are capable. His services are always in great de- 
mand when he can be spared from the Morris Stable, and 
he has often done better than some jockeys popularly 
held as being at the head of their company. 

Known to the racing world by his middle name of 
Coley, as well as his proper name, J. Coley Thompson 
holds a favorable position among the jockeys of our 
day. He was born at Nashville, Tenn., November 11, 
1881. He has to a good degree that balance and judg- 
ment described as "an old head on young shoulders, " 
while among the other elements which contribute to his 
success in the profession, he is unusually well educated, 
far more so than the greater number of youths now 
riding on the tracks of this country. Up to the time, a 
few years ago, when he came upon the turf, he attended 
school regularly and was an intelligent and careful 
student. His first mount was on La Creole, and in the 
race he finished third, not a bad beginning for a novice. 
His first winning mount was on Judith G., and his first 
regular turf engagement was with Edward Brown. 
This connection lasted from December, 1895, till Novem- 
ber, i8q6, and afterward he united with the stable of 
John E. Madden. For the period that he has been a 
knight of the pigskin, he has had an unusually varied ex- 
perience and has had mounts on a very large number of 
performers of reputation. As examples of the horses 
which he has ridden and brought to the front in their 
races, Judith C, Woodbury, Corrigan, Lady Doleful, 
Margaret, Carrie L., Connie Lee and Robert Bonner may 
be mentioned, though the record could be extended 
much further and still be abundant in interest. 



As a jockey in his earlier years, and later as a trainer, 
George Hanawalt has had a connection with the turf 
that is interesting and suggestive. He is a native of 
Chicago, born July 27, 1874. He was thirteen years old 
when, in 1887, he made his first stable connection 
with Mr. C. M. Shields. For that owner he first exer- 
cised and then began to ride, meeting with good suc- 
cess. From the stable of Mr. Shields he went to that of 
Mr. M. M. Allen and still later rode for Messrs. Simon 
W. Reid, Frank Regan, Burns & Waterhouse, J. Kneale, 
and others. His career as a jockey called out the 
frequent commendation of his employers. When he 
chose to retire from active work in the saddle he had a 
clean and honorable record to his credit. Notwithstand- 
ing the satisfactory results of his jockeyship, he preferred 
the profession of training and for that reason has in his 
later years very largely abandoned riding. His judgment 
regarding a horses's condition and the best way to bring 
him into good form is much more than ordinarily good. 
During the two years or more that he has been with the 
stable of Mr. Frank Regan he has had the handling of 
many good animals that, under his charge, are almost 
in\'ariably brought to the post in the pink of condition, 
and have been repeatedly returned winners. Nor are 
his ambitions entirely fulfilled as yet, for he aims even- 
tLially to take a further step foiward and to enter the 
ranks of owners. 

Although born in England, John W. Hothersall has 
spent his entire life in the United States. His acquaint- 
ance with the thoroughbred began in 1892 in the stable 
of Mr. John Daly. In that establishment and after- 
ward with Mr. J. S. Campbell and with Mr. J. M. Jeff- 
cot, he continued to be employed in exercising. Then 
he was attached as a jockey to the stables of Messrs. 
George F. Smith, Samuel C. Hildreth, and M. F. Ste- 
phenson, and finally with the stable of Mr. William C. 
Daly. He is a good lightweight, riding at about 92 or 93 
pounds, has a firm seat in the saddle, and is able to get 
as much out of the animal that he is astride of as any 
man. Recently he has been upon the Western tracks. 

Born in Canada, in 1866, Gustavus Hamilton beg.an 
his racing experience in the Dominion in the stable of 
Mr. John White, the Canadian turfman. Afterward, in 
the stable of Mr. E.J. Campbell, he began riding jump- 
ers and made that a specialty. He was engaged from 
time to time with many prominent owners, including 
Messrs. A. E. Gates, Edward Corrigan and J. G. K. 
Lawrence, and latterly with Mr. John Nixon, until his 
retirement. He was a jockey strictly conservative in 
his methods, and at his home in Toronto, as well as 
upon all the great race courses in the United States and 
Canada, has always been held in the highest esteem 
among turfmen, being regarded as one of the safest and 
most reliable jockeys of his time. 



41S 



MEN OF THE TURF 



MEN OF THE TURF 



The Speculative Side of Racing and Those Prominent In It — Veterinary Science and 

Its Work for the Thoroughbred — Starters and Other 

Officials of the Track 




tion. 



EADERS who have thus far followed the history 
of the American turf that has been presented 
in the preceding pages can scarcely have failed 
to be impressed with the magnitude of the in- 
terests involved in this great national institu- 
Not only, as has been seen, are vast amounts of 
capital at stake in supporting breeding establishments, 
racing stables and race tracks, but a great variety of other 
interests are also involved, either directly or indirectly. 

The breeders of national reputation ; the owners whose 
stables contribute to the importance of racing meetings; 
the trainers to whose intelligent efforts the perfect con- 
dition of the running thoroughbreds must be credited; 
the racing officials to whose careful direction and su- 
pervision is due in large measure the success of our great 
tracks; the jockeys, who, brilliant in varied colored silk 
jacket and cap, are picturesque, hard-working and capable 
in their efforts to please the public and to bring prolit 
to their employers; each of these classes constitutes 
by itself a regiment, if not indeed even an army. An 
idea of the great numbers of men engaged in these 
respective pursuits and of the wide importance of their 
activity in developing modern racing and in maintaining 
it in that high state of perfection which is the delight of 
t.ne public, has undoubtedlv been clearly gained by those 
who have followed our accounts of these branches of 
turf- life and of the gentlemen prominent in them. 

But a comprehensive review of the turf and of those 
associated with it cannot thus be brought to a conclu- 
sion. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of others, 
who. if in some respects less conspicuous than those in 
the classes just referred to. are in no sense less important 
members of the racing fraternity or less meritorious in 
the character of their work. In this list must be included 
a large company of those whose particular duty it is to 
look after the welfare of the thoroughbreds in many 
ways: to direct the affairs of racing meetings, and to 
attend to many of the needs of owners and the public in 
connection with racing associations and meetings. 

In this connection we cannot overlook one side of rac- 
ing affairs that has barely been touched upon in these 
pages, and yet which has always been of vital moment 
to the prosperity of the turf. Reference is made, of 
course, to the betting, which in these latter days has 
become a science and is scarcely less essential to the 

421 



very existence of the tuif than is breeding or racing. 
The time was, and that, too. not so very long ago, 
when betting in connection with racing was carried on 
in a very haphazard fashion, and, it must be confessed, 
was fraught with manifold evil. As the turf grew in 
importance and the patronage bestowed upon it increased 
to tens of thousands where previously there had been 
hundreds or thousands, the necessity of reform in the 
manner of conducting betting in connection therewith 
and the demand for reasonable regulations that should 
conserve the interests of the racing associations, the 
public and the betting fraternity, became clearly appar- 
ent. The warfare made upon the pool-rooms some 
years ago and other movements in this matter empha- 
sized the demand of the hour and led up to the institu- 
tion of many important reforms and to the establishment 
of betting under the new system as it now exists. 

As conducted at the present time, under reasonable 
regulations and restrictions and subject to the watchful 
attention of gentlemen whose greatest care is for the 
welfare of the turf, bookmaking in connection with our 
great tracks has become a well established institution 
that generally commends itself. The bookmakers who 
are principally connected with the metropolitan tracks 
constitute a notable company of men. They are shrewd 
observers, have keen business instincts, and their trust- 
worthiness and reliability is fully evidenced by the con- 
fidence that is placed in them by the managers of the 
various racing associations and by the public that freely 
places its money in large amounts upon the events of the 
different meetings. 

The Metropolitian Turf Association has on its roll of 
membership those who are undoubtedly foremost in the 
United States in this particular line of business. Mem- 
bership in this association is a guarantee to the public of 
the responsibility of those who control the business of 
the betting ring. Most of these members have had long 
and honorable connection with bookmaking, and their 
association for mutual advantage and for the proper 
regulation of the traffic has unquestionably redounded to 
the public benefit. The names of these gentlemen are 
well worth presentation as showing the character of 
those in whose hands are such large and important 
monetary interests, and in whom the public daily re- 
poses the utmost confidence. In this list appear the 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



names of T. B. Alexander, W. E. Applegate. Jr., J. Beat- 
tie, F. Belanger. W. Beverly, Max Blumenthal, F. 
Brower, T. A. Brown, E. Burke, S. j. Burke. E. J. 
Callahan, R. A. Canfield, George Carlin, J. B. Coleman. 
W. J. Connor, P. Cowan, E. Croker, W. H. Crouchen. 
John Daly, Hayden Dargon, J. Davey, R. H. Davis, 
D. Donnelly, P. H. Downey, N. J. Doyle, F. A. Duffy, 
John Duffy, C. F. Dwyer, F. Eckert. C. W. Emerson. 
S. Emery, S. Fisher, F. W. Flood. Max Franks, S. Franks, 
J. Frye, E. Gaines, D. Gideon. L. Gilbert, M. Goodwin, 
C. R. Grannan. Joseph Guthorn. 1. Hakelberg, William 
Harbaum, H. Harrigan, Henry Harris, C. F. Heineman. 
W. Heineman. C. E. Heney. P. Howell, J. O. Hughes, 
R. G. Irving, E. P. Jones, O. A. Jones. A. Kaufman. J. 
Keys, M. Klien. J. P. Korn. G. Kunzeman. A. G. Lack- 
man. M. Leon. A. J. Levy. S. Lichenstein. T. Lloyd, 
J. London, M. M. Looram. W. J. Mackin. W. F. Mac- 
Namara. J. A. Mahonev. E. N. Marks. M. Marks. James 
McCullom. J. E. McDonald. B. Michaels. George Middle- 
ton. M. Minden. J. J. Murphy. J. Nagle, P. Nagle, T. E. 
Nagle. C. Nelson. W. E. Nixon. T. O'Brie'n. D. J. 
O'Connor. J. J. O'Neill, E. Pearsall, W. H. Peters. H. 
Quinn. M. Reardon. J. P. Robinson. R. L, Rose, H. 
Schopps. P. J. Shannon, T. H. Shannon, E. L. Smith, L. 
H. Sneli. 'William Snow. H. Stedeker. T. G. Sullivan. S. 
Summerfield. L. Swatts. R. P. Tebo. C. H. Thompson. 
1, S. Thompson, 'W, J, Torpie, A. Ullman, J. Ullman, J. 
C. Van Ness, I. H. Vendig. G. Walbaum, N. P, Walda- 
man. A, Wall'cWalters.^J. C.Walters, G. A. Wheelock, 
B. Wolf. F. M. Woods. The Governing Committee of 
the Association consists of E. N. Marks. O. A. Jones, H. 
Stedeker, G. A. Wheelock and S. Lichenstein. The 
members of the Arbitration Committee are R. L. Rose, 
T. G. Sullivan and E. M. Gaines The secretary is T. G. 
Sullivan, and the treasurer, E. N. Marks. 

Coming to the consideration of another branch of turf 
affairs, we are strikingly impressed with the fact that no 
profession is of more importance in this particular con- 
nection than that of the veterinary. It has remained for 
the nineteenth century to develop this science to the 
high position that it now holds. Particularly the estab- 
lishment of veterinary schools in Great Britain has done 
much to educate a class of physicians for this pursuit 
and well equipped with special knowledge. In the 
United States veterinary science has in recent years kept 
fair pace with the advancement that has been made in 
Great Britain and elsewhere. In all the large cities of the 
country veterinary schools have been established. Sev- 
eral of our large universities, like Cornell, Columbia. 
Pennsylvania, Harvard and others have veterinary schools 
or chairs with competent teachers. The practitioners 
that have come from these institutions and also those 
who have acquired a practical knowledge of the treat- 
ment of horse ailments constitute a body of accomplished 



men who have been of invaluable service to owners of 
thoroughbreds. In a volume of this character it is im- 
possible to give more than a mere passing attention to 
the subject, with a reference, presently, to several of the 
leading exponents of this branch of medical practice. 

Racing and track officials constitute a large and influ- 
ential class. Some of them have been already consid- 
ered. Others there are whose duties are scarcely less 
important, and who contribute in their respective ways 
to the success of every meeting. It may be invidious to 
select any particular one from this class of minor officials; 
but, nevertheless, it seems only just to pay passing trib- 
ute to the work of the starter, a hard-working and often 
much-abused individual. Perhaps no position at the 
race course is less enviable than that of the man who 
wields the flag. No starter ever lived who gave general 
satisfaction to the public, and it is extremely doubtful if 
that phenomenal individual will ever be born. Some 
good and strong men have held the position on Ameri- 
can tracks. In days gone by there were Messrs. 
Wheatly. Crouse, Connor, Simmons, Sheridan and 
several others whose names should be readily 
recalled. 

In the immediate present we have had a goodly number 
of starters who have compared favorably with those who 
preceded them, and have done as well as could be ex- 
pected of any in that supremely difficult position. 
As late as 1897, Mr. C. H. Pettingill officiated as starter 
at all the metropolitan tracks, and he was in turn suc- 
ceeded by Mr. C. J. Fitzgerald. In recent times Mr. 
William J. Fitzpatrick, during the latter years of his life, 
officiated at Saratoga, Washington and elsewhere. On 
the Pacific Coast Mr. R. J. Harvey and Mr. J. B. Fergu- 
son have been conspicuous in this official class. Mr. C. 
J. Fitzgerald has also started the races at New Orleans; 
Mr. C. Chinn at Memphis. Tenn. ; Mr. J. P. Chinn for 
the Kentucky Association at Lexington, and also foi the 
Latonia Jockey Club: Mr. Phil Gilman, at Nashville. 
Tenn., and for the Highland Park Club, of Detroit; Mr. 
W. P. Maxwell at St, Louis; Mr, H. G. Brown for the 
<^ueen City Jockey Club at Cincinnati: Mr. W. P. 
Maxwell for the Little Rock Jockey Club; Mr. J. F, Cald- 
well for the Detroit Jockey Club, and Mr. J, B. Ferguson 
for the Butte and Anaconda, Mont., meetings. 

Further consideration of these and other individuals 
connected with racing in official and professional capac- 
ity would he agreeable, did time and space permit. 
Enough has already been said, perhaps, to sufficiently 
indicate the variety and the great and growing impor- 
tance of these branches of turf activity. A review of the 
careers of some of the foremost individuals in their 
respective classes will, it is believed, conclusively 
demonstrate the force of the propositions already 
enunciated. 



422 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Instances of permanent profit in backing horses are 
proverbially scarce. In fact the number of those who, 
in this connection, have attained more than a temporary 
good fortune could be easily reckoned, while thousands 
fail to wind up as much as a single season without loss. 
Taking these things into consideration, the success of Mr. 
George A. Wheelock has been remarkable. He is indeed 
one of the very few 

who have accom- 

plished such a result, 
and is looked upon as 
one of the shrewdest 
and most careful men 
in his line. Giving, 
however, his entire 
time and attention to 
his business, the re- 
sults he has secured 
can be ascribed in 
large measure to that 
fiict. At the same 
time, it cannot be lost 
sight of that the pos- 
session of a high or- 
der of ability, a com- 
plete knowledge of all 
the details of racing 
and betting and a 
thorough acquaint- 
ance with horseflesh, 
have been substantial 
and important ele- 
ments contributing to 
his success. 

Mr. Wheelock was 
born in St. Louis, Mo., 
September 26, i8s8. 
He came of an excel- 
lent family, his parents 
being well connected 
both in New York and 
Boston. He was care- 
fully educated, gradu- 
ating from the High 
School of his native 
city in 1876, and it 
was the desire of his 
father, who was a 

prominent merchant, that he should enter Yale College. 
As a youth, however, his inclinations were strongly set 
toward the domain of sport. Especially, he early de- 
veloped ability as a billiard amateur, playing himself and 
taking great interest in organizing matches. 

His speculations in connection with the turf began in 




GEORGE A. WHEELOCK 



1 8.S2, and four years later he became a bookmaker at 
Washington Park, Chicago, having as associates the 
notable Western turfmen, Messrs. E. J. Baldwin and 
George Hankins. While this connection put him in 
possession of many stable secrets, he soon discovered the 
comparative uselessness of such information and, princi- 
pally for this reason, the partnership with Mr. Hankins 

was dissolved. Com- 
ing to the East with 
Mr. Baldwin, he fol- 
lowed the latters' 
horses. The follow- 
ing season was spent 
by him at the South in 
association with 
Captain John Hardy 
and Mr. J. Daniel 
Hutchison, the last 
named gentleman and 
Mr. Wheelock finally 
joining Mr. Baldwin 
once more at Chicago. 
It was not until 
1888, however, that 
Mr. Wheelock began 
to make money on a 
considerable scale. 
While making a book 
at New Orleans he 
met two New York 
betting men, Charles 
Aikens and Percy Gil- 
lies, who had a theory 
upon handicapping 
which they communi- 
cated to him. and he, 
though finding their 
p 1 a n impracticable, 
derived benefit from it 
in combination with 
his own ideas, in the 
ensuing season net- 
ting some $140,000 
from his operations. 
In the next year he 
had five ^books in 
operation, but reduced 
the number to two, his 
own and that of Wheelock & Harris. Both Mr. Harris 
and Mr. Leo Meyer were employees of Mr. Wheelock 
and, graduating to the block, became successful. It is al- 
ways essential that the public should deal with respon- 
sible bookmakers, and the prominence of such men as 
Mr. Wheelock is of importance to all who follow racing. 



423 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Mr. Robert G. Irving is one of the substantial old- nings were some $18,000. He was less fortunate, how- 
time turfmen. A native of England, he was born in ever, when Salvator won the Realization, defeating 
London, but his entire life, from the time of his infancy, Tenny by a head, for he was on the losing side on that 
has been passed in America. His interest in outdoor occasion, standing to win $30,000 on Tenny. Under 



sports was shown early in his career, although its mani- 
festation in the direction of racing was not at first dis- 
played. After his school days, when he came to enter 
upon active life for himself, he learned the trade of 
boat building. In that pursuit he was engaged for 
many years. During the Civil War, he rendered the 
United States Government e.xceedingly valuable service 
on more than one occa 
sion in matters pertain- 
ing to his trade. 

It is going on a quar- 
ter of a century, at least, 
since Mr. Irving began 
to feel an interest in turf 
matters. At first, he 
merely had an intimate 
acquaintance with many 
people who weie con- 
cerned in racing, and 
gradually felt himself 
drawn in that direction. 
Nevertheless, until about 
1881, he continued in 
the business pursuit that 
had engrossed his atten- 
tion up to that time. 
Finally, taking a special 
liking to racing affairs, 
and becoming thor- 
oughly imbued with the 
idea that he could be 
successful in connection 
therewitiT, he embarked 
with a small capital, 
and had most gratifying 
results from the outset. 
His first venture was 
about the time when 
Leonatus won the Ken- 
tucky Derby, and that 
great mare Thora broke 

down. During his long and active career, Mr. Irving has 
made more than one brilliant coup. He has been a care- 
ful, conservative bettor, but his conservatism has not 
held him back from making many strong plays. Prob- 
ably, in the course of his experience, he has won over a 
quarter of a million dollars. In one year alone, that of 
1887, he cleaned up some $9^,000. He has figured on 
the betting side of most of the notable turf events of 
this period. When Longstreet beat Tenny, his win- 




ROBERT G. IRVING 



the present system of betting, he has not always been 
as successful as he could desire, for he acknowledges to 
having lost in bad accounts some $18,000. Neverthe- 
less, despite this e.xperience, he prefers, on the whole, 
the style of betting now in vogue, and considers that in 
some respects it showed a marked improvement over 
the methods that have generally prevailed in the past. 

Mr. Irving has en- 
joyed the confidence of 
the leading turfmen of 
the present generation, 
for most of whom he 
has transacted business, 
and always to the satis- 
faction of both parties. 
For three years, he 
placed Mr. Michael F. 
Dwyer's commissions. 
Not long ago, his name 
was brought more 
prominently than ever 
before to public atten- 
tion in connection with 
the discussion as to 
the legal status of bet- 
ting. It will probably 
be readily recalled that 
one Joseph Britton was 
sued by Mr. Irving. The 
suit was brought for the 
ultimate purpose of se- 
curing a decision from 
the highest courts of the 
State as to the legality of 
a gambling debt. Judge 
Pryor, before whom the 
case was first tried, held 
that the racing law was 
unconstitutional. On ap- 
peal, the case was taken 
to Judge Gaynor, who 
overruled the decision of Judge Pryor. Later on, how- 
ever, the Court of Appeals decided against Judge 
Gaynor, and upheld the decision of Judge Pryor. 

Noted for his upright business methods and for the 
integrity that has characterized his life, Mr. Irving has a 
large acquaintance with racing people, by whom he is 
held in high esteem. In addition to his own capital, he 
has handled large sums for other people, with generally 
successful results. 



424 



THE AMERICAN- TURF 



it will not escape notice that many men who have 
been prominently connected with the bettint; interests of 
the turf have had previous experience in business mat- 
ters. They are generally trained men who, with Sound 
general education, have also the additional advantage 
that comes from thorough knowledge of business 
methods and a more or less intimate acquaintance with 
commercial life. This affords a substantial foundation for 
the successful upbuilding of the particular turf connection 
atwhich they aim. The 
shrewdness, capacity 
and industry that is 
necessary in all busi- 
ness afftiirs, and fa- 
miliarity with mone- 
tary questions are the 
indispensable factors 
in all racing specula- 
tion. Moreover, the 
powers of keen obser- 
vation and of quick 
conclusions that be- 
long to bright busi- 
ness men are those 
most in demand in 
the making of a suc- 
cessful turf speculator. 

Mr. Joseph H. Ven- 
dig is another illustra- 
tion of the proof of 
the above proposition. 
He was born in Phila- 
delphia, August IS. 
i860, and his first ex- 
perience with racing 
began in 1870. Al- 
though only nineteen 
years of age at that 
time, he was already 
the possessor o f a 
good education, and 
had also profited by 
business experience. 
His father was a busi- 
ness man of Philadelphia, and there he was first en- 
gaged as clerk and still later as traveling salesman. 
But even at this early age racing seemed to hold out 
more inducements to him than business, and, leaving the 
road, he began the career in which he has since attained 
such distinction. 

His debut was at the opening meeting of the Brighton 
Beach Racing Association, and from that time on he has 
been a conspicuous figure among the bettors and book- 
makers of the track. 




JOSEPH H. VENDIG 



For many years he has been recognized as one of the 
nerviest and most energetic sportsmen of the day. 
■Besides betting for himself, he has been entrusted with 
a great deal of business by prominent turfmen, who 
have had the fullest confidence in his capacity, good 
judgment and integrity. For a period of seven years, 
extending from iSqoto 1897, he was the commissioner 
for Mr. Michael F. Dwyer. In his capacity as commis- 
sioner for other notable individuals, he has placed some 

of the largest bets 
ever laid upon the 
race track, and his 
general success has 
become proverbial. 

Nor has Mr. Ven- 
dig confined his at- 
tention in racing mat- 
ters to the betting 
ring exclusively. 
During the seasons of 
i8q2 and 1893 he was 
a member of the firm 
of O. A. Jones & Co., 
that owned several 
good horses, and the 
success that the 
stable achieved was 
in no small measure 
due to his judgment 
in regard to the value 
of thoroughbreds and 
in directing their rac- 
ing. Among the best 
horses of that firm 
were Leonawell, Dr. 
Wilcox and Beck. 

Mr. Vendig has also 
been interested in 
other sporting affairs 
outside of racing. 
He managed the 
celebrated Corbetl- 
Mitchell fight, and it 
was through his per- 
sonal effort, notwithstanding the opposition of the au- 
thorities, that the fight finally took place in Florida. He 
was a half owner of the Florida Athletic Club at one 
time and was also connected with the Maher-Fitzsim- 
mons fight, which was brought to a successful con- 
clusion by him. In regard to betting at the race 
track, which absorbs most of his time and attention, 
he does not think that the present system can be 
in any wise improved upon, as compared with old- 
time methods, 



425 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Few men have had a more notably dazzling career in 
connection with the betting side of racing than Mr. 
Charles R. — or "Riley" — Grannan. His reputation 
among turfmen is as widelv extended as the United 
States, and he is one of the few of the present day in 
his particular line of business concerning whom the 
public has the greatest curiosity. For several years 
past he has been one of the most sensational "plun- 
gers" known to the American turf. By choice, instinct, 
training and circum- 
stance he has become 
associated with the 
speculative side of 
horse racing, and 
upon that particular 
subject no man of his 
age has had a wider 
experience or a more 
practical knowledge. 
He is a native of the 
town of Paris, Ken- 
tucky, and was born 
some thirty years ago. 
Although the Blue 
Grass State has fur- 
nished many notable 
turfmen to the coun- 
try, as breeders, own- 
ers or trainers, it 
probably never sent 
forth a more striking 
illustration of pluck 
and of energy than 
exists in the person 
of Mr. Grannan. 

Having his own 
way to make in the 
world, this young 
Kentuckian started 
out for himself at the 
age of twelve. With 
the natural fondness 
forhorses that belongs 
to all natives of Ken- 
tucky he drifted into 

association with racing and sold programmes at running 
meetings, making quite a little money. He also began 
betting, and in a small way was fairly successful. Be- 
fore he was seventeen years of age he went to New 
Orleans, where he was employed in the St. Charles 
Hotel. There he attracted the attention of Bookmaker 
Botay, with whom he became associated. His tlrst 
real start in his brilliant career began, however, in 
connection with Mr. William E. Applegate, one of the 




prominent horsemen and bookmakers. Applegate had 
the fullest confidence in the ability of the bright, alert 
young man. and gave him assistance in starting at 
Memphis. Tenn. , what was undoubtedly the first field 
book ever made in the West. Grannan received part 
of the profits of the venture and the book was con- 
tinued throughout the Western circuit to the eminent 
satisfaction of both gentlemen, for the youthful partner 
was a close observer and his shrewdness and courage 

brought big returns. 
After two or three 
years' experience in 
this field he acquired 
sufficient capital to 
go in among the big 
layers in the regular 
ring and started on 
the phenomenal 
career that has 
brought him so con- 
spicuously not only 
before the turf public 
but before outsiders 
as well. 

He has, in recent 
years, been the central 
figure of some of the 
most sensational 
events connected with 
the betting ring. 
There has been a 
great deal of talk, 
especially in the 
newspapers, about his 
fabulous winnings, 
much of which, as he 
says, are largely 
flights of fancy. Nev- 
ertheless, he is not 
averse to admitting 
that at times he has 
won very heavily on 
important events. 
His betting operations 
are conducted on a 
large scale, and it has not been unusual for him to win 
from $20,000 to $30,000 on a single race. 

Naturally, carrying on operations upon such a large 
scale, he has several times won and lost a fortune. He 
is not an adherent of any system, but relies wholly on 
his own judgment, in which he has the most implicit 
confidence, and justly so, considering how well it has 
served him. He is one of the most modest of men, 
wholly averse to notoriety, and a general favorite. 



CHARLES R. GRANNAN 



426 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Some one has said that, like the poet, the bookmaker 
is born, rather than made. Undoubtedly, one must 
possess special talent for this avocation, if he expects to 
attain even the most moderate degree of success in it. 
In many other business pursuits general proficiency in 
methods and in e.xperience enables many a man to es- 
tablish himself firmly. In the matter of bookmaking, 
however, there is no disguising the fact that in addi- 
tion to a sound business training the requisites for the 
occupation are peculiar to itself To a certain extent 
bookmakers are the re- 
sult of chance, that is, 
they have drifted into 
the occupation without 
serious and determined 
preparation. Neverthe- 
less, after their advent 
in the calling they must 
prove to be possessed 
of innate qualities with- 
out which they could 
by no means hope to 
attain success. 

To enumerate the 
qualities that goto make 
up a successful member 
of the bookmaking fra- 
ternity would be a long 
task and would present 
some exceedingly in- 
teresting considera- 
tions. It will not be 
possible, however, to 
go thus into detail con- 
cerning the subject. It 
is important, however, 
to point out that in or- 
der to become a shining 
light in the fraternity a 
man must be a good 
loser. No heed what- 
ever other attributes he 
may possess, if he is 
lacking in that he might 
as well be lacking in all. 

The conservative, methodical spirit of a business man 
are excellent in their way for the bookmaker. In the 
general significance of the term, he need in no sense be 
a gambler, or to speak more decidedly, he will be more 
certain of success if quite averse to the general allure- 
ments of chance. 

Nevertheless, he must know how to be not only a 
good winner, but also a good loser. It is comparatively 
easy for a man to retain his equanimity when things are 




ROBERT P. TEBO 



going well with him. Far more difficult is it to main- 
tain an even balance of mind in the face of losses. This 
is largely a matter of temperament, and he who pos- 
sesses this faculty has that which may be one of the 
surest elements of his success and which will be certain 
to command the admiration and the envy of his profes- 
sional associates, as well as those of the outside public 
who know him. Such an individual soon comes to be 
a marked figure in the racing world and he receives a 
just tribute of confidence, alike from owners and miscel- 
laneous bettors. This 
is an invaluable capital 
for him and is likely 
alone to insure him a 
prosperous career. 
When to this is added 
other qualifications, of 
keen business insight, 
knowledge of horses 
that comes from wide 
experience and careful 
study and a large fa- 
miliarity with all the 
minutis of stable and 
race track life, the ca- 
reer of the individual 
thus favored may be 
regarded as fairly 
m a p p e d out before 
him. 

Undoubtedly most 
members of the betting 
fraternity are not only 
men of high personal 
character, but they are, 
to an exceptional de- 
gree, possessed of both 
the general and the pe- 
culiar qualifications to 
which reference has 
just been briefly made. 
One of those in the 
field whose operations 
are on a large scale, 
and concerning whose 
career there are many favorable prognostications, is Mr. 
Robert P. Tebo. He is a native of the City of Brooklyn, 
and has been associated with racing affairs from his 
earliest years. After receiving a sound education in the 
public schools he made his first venture in business life 
in connection with bookmaking at the metropolitan 
tracks. For sixteen years he has been thus engaged. 
During the last six years he has made a book on all the 
Eastern courses and has been very successful. 



427 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



AIthou2;h a veteran in all matters pertaining to the 
turf, Mr. William H. Peters is still a voungman in years. 
He is a native of New York City and was born October i, 
1865. As a boy he attended the pLiblic schools and early 
gave evidence of that steadiness, attention to duty and 
ability to win success that have been his dominant char- 
acteristics throughout life. In his school days he was 
known as a diligent student, never missed a promotion 
and graduated with credit when he was sixteen years of 
age. His entrance upon business life was in Wall street, 
where he became an 
employee of a brokerage 
firm. His industry and 
shrewdness matured 
early and he was able to 
start independently be- 
fore he had attained to 
full age. 

Success crowned his 
energy and soon he had 
accumulated a consider- 
able capital, so that he 
was able to retire from 
the Street. This gave 
him the time and the 
means to devote to rac- 
ing, which sport had al- 
ways possessed a great 
fascination for him. At 
the tmTe when he began 
his career on the turl 
pLiblications in the shape 
ofaninde.x that gave a 
guide to the quality of 
the work of the ecjuine 
performers on the tracks 
were rare. Consequently 
it was more difficult to 
follow the form of the 
horses and to reason out 
the possibilities in them, 
than it is at the present 
day. Mr. Peters found 
it necessary to stand in 

the field and compile an index for himself as a basis for 
his betting operations. The habit of close observation 
and of careful study of the history of the horses who 
passed before him that he thus acquired was the sub- 
stantial foundation of his future as a turfman and to it he 
has attributed much of his success. 

The training that he had secured in his school days 
and afterward in Wall street, was now of value to him 
and it was not long after he began to follow the races 
that the admirable judgment he showed in regard to the 




racing qualities of horses attracted general attention. In 
1 88s he became interested in bookmaking with Mahoney 
& Co., whose winnings, due to his judgment, during 
the next five years, were very large, in 1890, he began 
to make book by himself, having refused the offers of 
wealthy turfmen anxious to act as his backers. He has 
followed the profession at all the Eastern tracks and en- 
joys the confidence and respect of every element in the 
racing world, while his reputation with the public is such 
that all patrons of the turf are acquainted with his name. 

Throughout his turf 
experience his success 
has been steady. He 
acts systematically upon 
a theory of his own in 
regard to laying and tak- 
ing odds, to which he at- 
tributes much of his suc- 
cess. Although modest 
concerning his record he 
can recount many re- 
markable incidents of 
his career. For instance, 
once, within a week, he 
run up a five dollar bill, 
bet on Tea Tray at 10 
to I, to $is,ooo. He 
also won $7,000 on 
Major Domo at 40 to i, 
$S,ooo on Tulla Black- 
burn and $ It, 000 on 
Mable Glenn at good 
prices. The largest odds 
he ever procured was a 
bet of $10,000 to $100 
on Plenty at the Brook- 
lyn track, but Plenty 
lost by a nose to By 
Jove. Mr. Peters has 
owned a number of 
horses at various times, 
but preferred not to race 
them in his own name 
till the season of i8q6, 
when at last his colors appeared on the track. 

Mr. Peters has acquired considerable property includ- 
ing real estate in Brooklyn. He resides in a handsome 
house on the Park Slope in that city, having another 
house at Bensonhurst for the warm weather, while he 
also owns a place in Florida to which he repairs with his 
wife and children for the winter months. He is a mem- 
ber of the Metropolitan Turf Association and has a large 
circle of personal friends among turfmen who have con- 
fidence in him and have watched his career with interest. 



WILLIAM H. PETERS 



428 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



As indicated by his name, Mr. Thomas Lloyd, the popu- 
lar sportsman, is of Welch descent. His lather, the late 
John Lloyd, was a native of North Wales, and emiyiated 
to this country at an early age. Settling at tirst in West- 
ern New York, he soon came to the metropolis, and was 
a successful and highly respected produce merchant, 
established for many years in Eighth avenue, and later 
in Harlem. Finally retiring from business, he died some 
years ago, at the ripe age of seventy-five years. 

Mr. Thomas Lloyd was born in New York City, De- 
cember 3, 1863. He received an excellent education in 
the local schools, and 
then had his (i r s t 
business experience in 
the establishment of his 
father. His fondness for 
horses, however, ulti- 
mately decided his busi- 
ness career, and he in- 
vested a portion of his 
capital in the De Soto 
Stables, one of the 
largest places of its kind 
in the Harlem district 
of the metropolis. In 
this connection he 
made his first practical 
acquaintance with 
horses, and his experi- 
ence there had much 
to do with the ultimate 
development of his in- 
terest in racing affairs, 
in which he has long 
been active. 

While a mere lad. 
Mr. Lloyd took part in 
politics, and as a busi- 
ness man, interested in 
the welfare of the city 
and State, and not as a 
seeker for office, he has 
been an important factor 
in the city organization 
of the Democratic Party. 
He was appointed associate leader of the Tammany or- 
ganization in the Thirty-fourth Assembly District in 
Harlem, and his popularity and business standing in 
that portion of the city where he has always resided is 
shown by a flourishing political club, the Thomas 
Lloyd Association, which was formed there in 1894, re- 
ceived its name in his honor, and has done excellent ser- 
vice in the political field. 

Mr. Robert S. Lloyd, the younger brother of Mr. 




THOMAS LLOYD 



Thomas Lloyd, and like the latter, a well-known and en- 
thusiastic lover of the turf, was born in New York No- 
vember 19, i86s. He also received his education in 
local schools, entered business with his father, and sub- 
sequently transferred his ;ittention to the livery estab- 
lishment with his brother. Both gentlemen inherited 
considerable property, which they have increased, and 
are capable, energetic and liberal-minded men of affairs. 
It was about 1880 that Mr. Thomas Lloyd had his 
first active interest in and connection with the turf as an 
amateur and follower of the races. He has, to a certain 

extent, also been identi- 
fied as a capitalist with 
the business side of the 
sport, and in 1889, be- 
came interested with 
Mr. Browning and Mr. 
Thomas D. Reilly, now 
president and own- 
er of the Aqueduct 
Track. He is a con- 
stant attendant at the 
races, and bets largely 
and with good judg- 
ment, often handling 
thousands upon a single 
lace, while he has been 
remarkably successful in 
such ventures. 

Mr. Robert S. Lloyd is 
as well known in the 
West as in the East, 
and, in fact, devotes a 
large part of his atten- 
tion to racing in the 
former section. The 
Messrs. Lloyd have 
separately or jointly 
been the owners of a 
number of prominent 
race horses. The best of 
the animals which have 
cairied their colors was 
probably Worth, who 
cost some $10,000 as a 
Worth won several races at Saratoga, 
handsome return to his owners. They 



two-vear old. 
and netted a 

now have two horses in training, Charles Rose and 
Wood Bird, from both of which they expect fiivorable 
results. Both gentlemen are practical and experienced 
horsemen, and have an enthusiastic love of sport, as well 
as a keen business man's appreciation of the fact that to 
be popular, the turf must be kept pure, and in all things 
be above the criticism of its opponents. 



429 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



Although Mr. Thomas O'Brien has speculated in con- 
nection with the turf ever since he was able to count 
money, and is now one of the ablest, as well as most 
successful of the bookmaking fraternity, his early ex- 
periences with racing were in schooling and training 
jumpers. From this he advanced to the possession of 
an interest in some noted animals, moie particularlv 
those adapted to steeplechasing, to which branch of the 
sport he gave close attention for several years. To the 
fact that he possesses this exact practical knowledge of all 
departments of racing 
life, is in a large measure 
attributable the success 
he has made in his pres- 
ent profession. 

Born in Ireland, March 
5, 1862, Mr. O'Brien be- 
gan riding when ten 
years of age, and has 
had no other occupa- 
tion apart from horses 
and racing throughout 
his entire life. He took 
part in several Grand 
National Steeplechase 
races in the days of such 
prominent jumpers as 
Disturbance, The Lamb. 
Shifnal and others, and 
coming to America was 
identified with the same 
division of the sport. 
While never assuming 
the responsibilities of 
controlling a stable of 
his own, Mr. O'Brien 
has had an interest in 
several racers, among 
them being animals that 
developed into good per- 
formers, and not only 
made a name for them- 
selves, but justified the 
confidence of their own- 
er by the money they earned for him in their races. 

In 1887, Mr. O'Brien began bookmaking publicly, and 
signalized his entry to the professional ranks by a notable 
success. His profits in that year from bookmaking and 
betting combined were set down as over $100,000, and he 
has since given ample evidence that he possesses a com- 
bination of good fortune and good judgement that has 
placed him on an enviable financial plane. Like all 
members of the fraternity, he has had his losses, but oc- 
casional reverses do not deter him from following his 




THOMAS O'BRIEN 



own theories and judgment. His forte has always beert 
in heavy transactions, requiring both boldness and cap- 
ital, in connection with races where he has made a 
study of the conditions, and he is satisfied to stand by 
his convictions. As already indicated, he is a superla- 
tive judge of horses and possesses that lifelong knowl- 
edge of pedigrees and of the individul peculiarities that 
appear in racing animals which to the uninterested seems 
almost like an instinct. Besides this, he is popular in 
racing circles and has hosts of friends among horsemen 

of all classes. 

His views upon bet- 
ting in connection with 
the turf are interesting 
and valuable, being those 
of an expert. In com- 
mon with all close ob- 
servers, he holds that 
without speculation, the 
life of the turf would be 
feeble. But he contends 
against the popular 
and erroneous idea 
that the bookmaker is 
always a winner at the 
end of the season. This 
is a very false impres- 
sion. In fact, there are 
scores of the fraternity 
who lose their capital 
and never recover it. 
It is usually the large 
capitalist who survives 
the season and retires 
with a profit, while the 
man who enters the 
business with limited 
means has only a re- 
mote chance of surviv- 
ing to the end of a given 
racing year. The true 
method for the book- 
maker is to do legitimate 
business based on exact 
figures, avoiding the speculation which proves fiital to 
so many of them. At the same time the large por- 
tion of the public that is so apt to declaim against 
the supposed profits of the bookmaker, has, in Mr. 
O'Brien's opinion, only itself to blame for its losses. In- 
tending bettors, he urges, should measure the extent of 
their wagers by their capital and thus be able to increase 
their bets to a figure where they can recover their losses 
on one race irrespective of whether they have lost on 
any number of previous events. 



430 



TJIK AMERICAN TURI- 



Although Massachusetts has never supported the turf, 
that Commonwealth has furnished many keen horsemen 
and lovers of the thoroughbred. Mr. Charles F. Heine- 
man is one of that class, for he was born in the City of 
Boston some forty years ago. His parents moved to 
New York when he was still young, so that his educa- 
tion and youthful associations were entirely with the 
metropolis, which has since been his home. He received 
a sound education, and was a bright scholar, being par- 
ticularly quick with figures. In fact, he gave earlv indi- 
cations of possessing 
a mind for mathemat- 
ics, which is one of 
the necessary ingred- 
ients in the make-up 
of one destined to be 
a follower of the turf 
and a factor in its 
speculative side. 

It was while a 
schoolboy of twelve 
that Mr. Heineman 
first became interest- 
ed in the turf. At 
that age, he knew 
about the leading 
horses and was back- 
ing his favorites. As 
he grew older, the 
strong bent of his 
predilections asserted 
itself, and he was far 
from having attained 
his majority, when he 
was engaged at that 
school of American 
horsemen and racing 
men — old Monmouth 
Park, learning the 
mystery of bookmak- 
ing as it was then 
practiced, and mak- 
ing a good impres- 
sion on the host of 
prominent turf people 
with whom he was thus brought into contact. He 
early reached the upper ranks of his profession, and has 
been continually in business on his own account for 
about a score of years. During that time, whatever the 
vicissitudes of fortune, he has always held the confi- 
dence and respect of the racing public and has had a 
career that even the most exacting sportsman could be 
proud of. 
During this period Mr. Heineman has taken part in the 




sport every season, and has been present at nearly 
every meeting or race of any importance at all the great 
Eastern tracks. He has several times made a comfort- 
able fortune, and has also experienced the sensation 
on several occasions of seeing his fortune take wings to 
itself in consequence of the many unexpected and un- 
foreseen contingencies that necessarily attend horse 
racing. Success he has borne with modesty, and defeat 
has been taken with true sportsmanlike pluck, while, 
whatever the result, each season has invariably found 

him once more in the 
betting ring. Taking 
the period through 
which his experiences 
have extended as a 
whole, he can look 
back to a very satis- 
factory record, since 
in most of those years 
he has made a record 
of more or less suc- 
cess. 

Mr. Heineman's ca- 
reer has been full of the 
interest that attaches 
Itself to horses and 
horsemen. He has 
seen all the great 
races of the present 
generation, and en- 
joys the acquaintance 
of many of the most 
prominent men in the 
turf world, being a 
man of steadfast 
friendships and sta- 
bility of character. 
His modesty forbids 
the specific mention 
of some of the valu- 
able happenings in his 
own business, when 
he has, on occasions, 
either won or paid 
out fairly princely 
sums on a single race, such occasions, as might be sup- 
posed, not having been rare in the life of one who has 
been so constantly in the harness. 

Above all things, Mr. Heineman is a lover of the thor- 
oughbred horse. The turf has for him a fascination, and 
the subject on which he loves best to hold discourse is 
the never-ending one of the merits of the past perform- 
ers and the prospects of the newer aspirants for the 
honors of the track and stud. 



CHARLES F. HEINEMAN 



431 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Bookmaking has come to be such an hnportant factor 
in modern turf life that it has called into the ranks of its 
supporters some of the brightest men ol this generation. 
They have been drawn from various walks of life, but 
have principally come from business pursuits to the call- 
ing in which they have finally distinguished themselves. 
Despite its manv exactions and the uncertainty about it, 
the speculative side ot the turf has always had a large 
army of followers and undoubtedly will continue so as 
long as the thoroughbred shall be raised and run. The 
bookmaker ministers to this demand tor betting oppor- 
tunities and the history of the turf, especially in recent 
times, show that he has met 
the situation generally in a 
way satisfactory to the great 
betting public as well as to 
himself 

It is worthy of note that, 
as a rule, successful book- 
makers have altogether con- 
fined themselves to this one 
profession alone. Other 
turfinen may in t u r n be 
found as breeders, owners, 
trainers or jockeys, or they 
may find a field for the ex- 
ercise of their talent in ofti- 
cial connection with racing 
associations. With the 
bookmaker it is entirely dif- 
ferent. Once in the betting 
ring, always in the betting 
ring, is almost the inflexible 
rule that can he evolved 
from a study of this profes- 
sion. That may indicate 
one of several things. It 
certainly shows that t h e 
pleasures a n d profits of 
bookmaking are of suffic- 
iently pronounced quantity 
to make it easy for its prac- 
titioners to resist the allurements of other pursuits. It 
may also indicate that the peculiar qualities that fit a 
man especially for bookmaking are not those that 
would naturally lead him to success in other occupations 
connected with the turf, however much they might, as 
has been demonstrated in many cases, bring him sub- 
stantial returns in outside business connections. 

Certain it is that bookmakers, as a rule, are very 
seldom interested in outside ventures. In fact, they may 
become accustomed to look upon thoroughbred per- 
formances merely from their own point of view. Un- 
doubtedly many of them take as enthusiastic interest in 




brilliant racing as themost devoted turfmen, but, on the 
whole, their concern over a igce is not so much on ac- 
count of the wonderful display of the prowess of the 
noble coursers as it is over the relative value of these 
performers in a matter of betting results. 

On the whole, this characteristic of the bookmaking 
profession may be considered an advantage than other- 
wise. It certainly leads to concentration of mind upon 
a single branch of business. There is no diffusion of effort 
and no distraction of thought .from the one thing that, 
in the bookmaker's opinion, is of the highest impor- 
tance. This is one great secret of the bookmaker's suc- 
cess. It is also of service to 
the public, which is depend- 
ent in no small measure upon 
the acuteness of the man 
who handles its money in 
betting and his application 
to the business before him. 

Years of experience in this 
particular pursuit certainly 
sharpen a man's wits and 
gradually lead him to that 
complete concentration of 
attention upon his business 
that is so important. Among 
those gentlemen who are 
prominent to-day in this 
fraternity, and who are good 
examples ofthis proposition, 
is Mr. Frank Kelly. He has 
given his entire lifetime to 
this occupation. He was 
born at Cincinnati, O., and 
when only eighteen years of 
age entered the business as a 
commissioner for Mr. Will- 
iam E. Applegate, the noted 
Western tiirfinan, who in 
this generation has been the 
largest owner of the West- 
ern Turf Association books, 
and whose operations have extended upon all the Western 
tracks, iacJuding Oakley, Louisville, Latonia, Memphis 
and elsewhere. Mr. Applegate has instructed some of 
the most noted plungers known to the modern turf, and 
his operations, while not of a sensational character, have 
always been of consideiable importance. 

Mr. Kelly places on an average several thousand dol- 
lars on a race and often this amount rises into the five 
figures. He has been connected with Mr. Applegate for 
many years and has a record of having done his work 
in the most satisfactory manner. He is extensively and 
favorably known throughbuf the entire country. 

432 



FRANK KELLY 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Patrons of the turf whose love of the thoroughbred 
horse and the sport he affords causes them to prefer it 
to the more prosaic pursuits of business, and whose 
wealth and social position add 
racing now enjoys, are no Ion 
States. Perhaps Mr. Fre<^ 



d *- the dignity which 

■ng in the United 

be taken as an 

.■e who devotes 

.1 whose pecuniary 

.0 the enjoyment that 

same time, Mr. Cowan 



exemplar of the Ameri'' 
himself to the turf :> 
interests in it ar^ 
he derives *" 
comes o'' 
tical ' 

St-" nc- 

.jch for 

I nation in 

_, different di- 

,is, and taking up 

.e turf as a pastime 
has not prevented him 
gaining a substantial 
success, such as does 
not often fall to the lot 
of those who woo its 
favors with a persist- 
ence born altogether of 
the mere idea of gain. 

While his family has 
now held a distinguish- 
ed place in American 
business life for three 
generations, Mr. Cow- 
an's ancestors on the 
paternal side were Eng- 
lish, while from his 
mother he inherits 
Scottish blood and de- 
termination. His grand- 
father was one of those 
who established the 
manufacturing indus- 
tries of the United 
States on a firm foun- 
dation, having been the 
first to introduce some 

of the most important mechanisms used in making tex- 
tiles in this country. He attained fame and fortune, and 
was the founder of the Worcester Mills, at Worcester, 
Mass. His son, the father of the subject of this sketch, 
was a gentleman of independent fortune. He was one 
of the largest landowners in Pennsylvania, and died in 
1872, after a long life of retirement, largely passed upon 
his country estates. 

The City of Washington, D. C, was Mr. Cowan's 
birthplace. There he saw the light, January 3, 1863. He 




FRED COWAN 



was carefully educated by his mother, to whom he has 
ever been an attached and devoted son, and prior to at- 
taining his majority had a business experience of about 
a year in a wholesale mercantile house. A business life, 
however, was not to his taste, and an inbred predilection 
tor horses and the turf led him to devote his attention to 
it exclusively. During the last fifteen years he has made 
this institution his study and occupation, as well as his 
chief pleasure. Observation, experience and close pow- 
ers of reasoning have made him one of the best con- 
temporary judges of the 
capability and perform- 
ance of horses, and as a 
consequence from the 
outset of his connec- 
tion with the turf, he 
has been exceptionally 
successful in his ven- 
tures in that connec- 
tion. 

In fact, during all the 
years that he has thus 
been occupied, he has 
invariably closed the 
season with a comfort- 
able amount of win- 
nings to the credit of 
his racing account. One 
year only (1897), out 
of the entire fifteen, has 
ever shown a loss. This 
is a record for any turf- 
man to be proud of 
and it becomes more of 
a tribute to Mr. Cow- 
an's knowledge of the 
sport, when it is con- 
sidered that he is a dar- 
ing and emphatic op- 
erator when his mind 
is made up in regard to 
the horses entered for 
any event. In the opin- 
ion of those competent 
to express an opinion and who have noted his career, 
he is considered a man of genuine ability. 

in addition to his attention to his favorite sport, Mr. 
Cowan has employed much of his leisure in travel, and 
has visited many parts of the world. While abroad he 
studied the turf in the old country, but unlike some 
Americans of his own social and financial position, he 
prefers the sport as it is conducted in his own land. He 
takes part in the pleasures ot the fashionable social 
world in the metropolis and other cities. 



433 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Born in New York, June 14, 1864, Mr. John G. 
Cav;in;igh has passed all the years of his maturity in con- 
nection with racing. In fact, he began his career long 
before he had attained to maturity. Left at an early age 
entirely dependent upon himself, he secured such edu- 
cation as he possesses entirely through his own efforts. 
He is in the fullest sense of the word a self-made man 
and the success that he has achieved has been due not 
alone to his natural ability, but also to his integrity, 
uprightness and unremitting application to business. 

His experience with the race track was coincident 
with the beginning of the second season at Brighton 
Beach. His first occupa- 
tion was in selling pro- 
grammes and in other 
work of allied character, 
and in that he made con- 
siderable money. When 
the Brooklyn Jockey Club 
opened its track he secured 
the privileges of that place 
and subsequently pur- 
chased the privileges at 
Brighton Beach, Clifton, N. 
J., Parkway, Providence, 
R. 1., Washington and 
Elizabeth, N. J. These 
privileges were of an im- 
portant character and Mr. 
Cavanagh, by the talent that 
he showed in the handling 
of the business connected 
therewith, made a very dis- 
tinct and agreeable reputa- 
tion. At the same time he 
had the Morris Park pro- 
gramme on commission. 
After a while some opposi- 
tion sprang up to him, 
naturally since he was mak- 
ing his ventures so success- 
ful. The opposition de- 
veloped itself at the Eliza- 
beth track, and as a result he tlnally gave up the pro- 
gramme privileges and entered upon the business of fur- 
nishing supplies to the bookmakers. 

His new venture was far from promising, at the outset. 
His circulars and personal solicitation for business brought 
him a single customer, Mr. W. R. Jones. For an entire 
year Mr. Jones was the sole customer that the young 
man supplied and even this contract was carried out 
only under the gravest difficulties, for he was not per- 
mitted to enter upon the track with his goods, but was 
obliged to meet his patron at the ferry or outside the 




JOHN G. CAVANAGH 



gate. At the end of this first year he made a contract 
with Mr. James Kelly to look after the minor details of 
business for the layers of odds at Morris Park and Sheeps- 
head Bay. It was not long before he engaged in the 
same capacity at Monmouth Park for Mr. L. O. Appleby 
and he also attended to the receiving or to the securing 
of such valuable information as the layers of odds rely on 
in making their books. 

When the Ives' law was abolished in New York and 
the Percy-Gray law went into effect, putting betting on 
races upon an entirely different footing than it had ever 
been before, Mr. Cavanagh made a canvass of the promi- 
nent bookmakers to furnish 
them with supplies and that 
special information 
which they might require 
as a basis for their business. 
The connections that he 
thus made gave him a sub- 
stantial standing at all the 
tracks which were opera- 
ted under the rules of The 
Jockey Club, and he now 
holds important relations 
with the bookmaking 
fraternity. He has charge 
of the betting ring and ex- 
ecutes the duties of that im- 
portant and trying position 
quite to the satisfaction of 
the bookmakers and of all 
others interested in the right 
administration of betting 
afl'airs under the present 
law. His activities are not 
limited by this engage- 
ment, however; he pub- 
lishes for the convenience 
of the frequenters of the 
race track a handy reference 
book of the races that are 
to be run. This little book 
also contains the names of 
the reliable bookmakers, all of whom are members of 
the Metropolitan Turf Association. Many other details 
of a more or less important character, pertaining particu- 
larly to the betting ring, are attended to by him with his 
corps of assistants, his business having grown so that 
he finds it no longer possible to carry it on unaided. 

Personally, Mr. Cavanagh is a man of wonderful te- 
nacity of purpose, but he is of a quiet, unassuming dis- 
position. He has won an enduring and well deserved 
popularity with bookmakers and in tact with all fre- 
quenters of the track. 



434 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Although comparatively young, having been born at 
Chelsea, Mass., in 1853, there are few men connected 
with racing whose history dates back as far as that 
of Mr. Frank T. Clarke, the efficient and popular super- 
intendent of the Coney Island Jockey Club. His e.xpe- 
riences began in the days of the founders of Jerome Pari;, 
for he started active life in 1868 as office boy for the Amer- 
ican Jockey Club, then at 920 Broadway, New York. 
In 1871, when the club migrated uptown and established 
itself opposite the Mad- 
ison Square Garden, " • 
young Clarke went with 
it. He was placed in 
full charge of the sub- 
scription rooms, which 
were built there and 
which became the rac- 
ing headquarters of the 
country. The rooms 
were provided with the 
most complete racing 
library in America, in- 
cluding the valuable col- 
lection presented to the 
club by James Watson, 
which contained the lit- 
erature of the English 
turf back to the days of 
the first Derby, in 1780. 
On nights before races 
pools were sold at the 
rooms, and among the 
noted horsemen who 
thronged them were 
Messrs. William R. 
Travers, Leonard and 
" Larry " Jerome, Mil- 
ton H. Sanford, August 
Belmont the elder, ku- 
fusHunt, D. D. Withers, 
John Morrisey, James 
Watson, Harry Bassett, 
Joe Daniel. Fordham 
Morris, Frank Morris, 
Denison & Crawford 

and many other turf magnates who were conspicuous in 
that notable period. 

Between 1876 and 1883, Mr. Clarke acted as dismount- 
ing judge and auctioneer at the Monmouth Park Asso- 
ciation, then in the heyday of its success, under the 
control of Mr. Withers. In 1879, he left the Jockey Club 
office and subscription rooms — it might be called 
graduating from the foremost college of racing in Amer- 
ica, and became superintendent of the American Jockev 




FRANK T. CLARKE 



Club, in which position he remained till 18S5. He left 
that place to become starter at the autumn meeting of the 
Coney Island Jockey Club, at Sheepshead Bay, in that 
year, and at the close of the meeting accepted the 
position of superintendent of the same track, which office 
he has tilled continuously from that time. He has been 
frequently called to give the benefit of his experience in 
connection with private tracks, among them being the 
establishments of Mr. August Belmont, at Babylon, 1,. 1., 

and of Col. W. P. Thomp- 
son, of Brookdale. In 
1895, he also took a trip 
to California, and had 
charge of the remodel- 
ing of the Bay District 
track at San Francisco. 
Several years ago he also 
accepted another con- 
spicuous position, that 
of superintendent of the 
National Horse Show at 
Madison Square Garden, 
and each year since has 
discharged the exacting 
duties in connection 
therewith to the satis- 
faction alike of man- 
agers, exhibitors and 
the public. 

An experience as an 
owner has not been 
lacking in Mr. Clarke's 
turf career, though he 
regards that rather as a 
matter of amusement. 
The mare Puzzle and the 
horse St. John both ran 
at Jerome Park under 
his colors of olive and 
old gold bars, but nei- 
ther won a race while 
he was their owner. 
As might be supposed, 
Mr. Clarke has an end- 
less fund of reminiscen- 
ces of turf men and matters. On his suggestion, for in- 
stance, Jerome Park was the first track to open on Decor- 
ation Day, and though a pouring rain came down, the 
receipts were the largest since the opening of the course. 
Mr. Clarke's residence is a pretty cottage on Ocean 
Avenue, Sheepshead Bay. It is full of souvenirs of his 
racing career, including a large collection of photo- 
graphs of men, horses and scenes which are memorable 
in the history of the turf, 



435 



THE AMERICAN TURF 




It would be difficult to find a more responsible post in 
connection with racing than that held by Mr. William 
A. Gorman, who is superintendent of that wonderful 
creation of capital and genius, Morris Park, Westchester, 
N. Y. This famous race course is justly regarded as one 
of the few model establishments of its kind in the world. 
in all its details, as well as in the character of its man- 
agement, it is ciuite worthy of the distinguished rank 
that it holds as one of the most important headciuarters 
of the racing interest anywhere in the United States. 
The prominence of Morris Park and its great popularity, 
as shown by the thousands that are attracted to it every 
season, has brought Mr. Gorman conspicuously and 
favorably to the attention 
both of the general public 
and of the racing traternity- 
Especially with racing men, 
there is no more popular 
individual connected with 
the turf to-day. The re- 
markable feature of Mr. 
Gorman's record is that he 
has achieved a success of 
the first magnitude in con- 
nection with the Morris 
Park track entirely without 
any previous experience in 
the racing world, and that 
so many of the admirable 
and novel features which 
are found in the details of 
the track, as well as in its 
practical administration, are 
original with him. His 
achievements in this re- 
spect constitute one of the 
most interesting pages in 
the history of the contem- 
porary turf 

Mr. Gorman was born in 
Baltimore, Md., in 1855. 
At fifteen years of age, he 
went to sea and followed 

that profession till his thirtieth year, beginning as cabin 
boy and ending as captain of a large steamer. His voy- 
ages extended to nearly all portions of the known world, 
and between them he made his home at Wilmington, 
Del. The late Mr. John A. Morris was a friend of Mr. 
Gorman's father. Hearing that the son was anxious to 
give up seaftiring, and knowing his reputation as a man 
of original ideas and great executive capacity, Mr. Morris 
sent for him and offered him the superintendency of 
Morris Park, which was then half finished and in such 
bad condition that training was almost impossible, a.nd 



WILLIAM A. GORMAN 



horsemen were about to abandon the place. The 
task was a novel one to Mr. Gorman, but he assumed it 
without hesitation, backed by Mr. Morris' pledge of un- 
limited control. He at once studied other tracks, and 
created new features as well as novel appliances for the 
work, and in due time Morris Park was inaugurated 
under most auspicious conditions. It will be remein- 
bered that on the opening day, 50,000 people attended 
the course, the largest gathering at a race track in re- 
cent years, and Mr. Gorman had the honor of receiving 
the unstinted compliments of the owners, of the archi- 
tect, and of the magnates of the American turf for his 
work. It may also be mentioned that on that day, for 

the first time in his life, he 
witnessed a horse race. 

Since then, Mr. Gorman 
has held the post of super- 
intendent at Morris Park 
uninterruptedly, and has 
made many further im- 
provements in its various 
features. Among the m , 
have been the straighten- 
ing of the Eclipse course; 
the building of the Withers 
mile ; the steeplechase 
course, which is one of the 
finest in the world, and the 
coaching plaza for the Turf 
and Field Club, that covers 
two acres. The track is a 
difficult one to keep in rac- 
ing condition, requiring not 
only constant, judicious 
outlay, but the unremitting 
supervision of an efficient 
working head and strict 
disciplinarian such as Mr. 
Gorman has proved him- 
self to be. 

Few, even of those con- 
nected with racing, are 
aware of how complex the 
duties falling to the superintendent of a great race course 
are. He is, in the first place, responsible to the pro- 
prietors for the popularity of the place with the public 
and with horsemen. Owners and trainers look to him 
to have the track in perfect condition, not only on the 
day of a race, but at all other times for exercising pur- 
poses. The public insists that the grand stand and 
grounds shall be without defect. In fact, the entire re- 
sponsibility rests on the superintendent. It is not the 
least among the tributes to Mr. Gorman's ability that 
under him Morris Park has become a noted social resort. 




435 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



When, in 1898, The Jockey Club appointed Mr. C. J. 
Fitzgerald starter for the courses under its control, it took 
action that was generally approved by all who are inter- 
ested in racing in the Metropolis. Mr. Fitzgerald has 
had an extensive experience and came to his new position 
qualified in a superior degree to discharge its exacting 
duties. Both by training and by temperament, he is 
particularly well qualified for the position that he now 
holds. Although a native of Canada, his entire life has 
been spent in the United States, and he is a thorough- 
going American citizen. 
He came to this country 
when a mere lad, and 
here he was educated 
and entered upon his 
active professional ca- 
reer. Becoming a jour- 
nalist, he was a mem- 
ber of the staff of The 
New York Sun, being 
for eleven years the turf 
and sporting editor ot 
that paper. Other news- 
paper work also engaged 
his attention, and, for 
two years and a half, he 
was the New York Cor- 
respondent for The Phil- 
adelphia Press. 

Mr. Fitzgerald's first 
practical experience in 
connection with race 
meetings began in the 
early nineties. His thor- 
ough knowledge of the 
technique of racing was 
recognized by all who 
knew him, and was 
especially appreciated by 
the well-known starter, 
James F. Caldwell, then 
acting under the aus- 
pices of the Board of 
Control. Mr. Caldwell 
had such confidence in 
Mr. Fitzgerald that he recommended him as a starter to 
the association that controlled racing at Toronto. His 
first attempt at handling the flag was made at that place 
and was eminently satisfactory. After that time the 
demand for his services steadily increased and he was 
engaged as starter at several important tracks. This 
position he held at the St. Asaph Course, near Washing- 
ton, and at Baltimore, and was also engaged to start the 
Morris Park steeplechases, and to officiate for two 





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C. J. FITZGERALD 



seasons at Milwaukee and for three seasons at New 
Orleans. His selection as starter of the meetings on 
the metropolitan courses was a very distinct promo- 
tion, but one which he had decidedly earned by his 
fidelity and uprightness and his unswerving devotion 
to the turf. 

Having made a particularly careful study of horses and 
of racing methods since his advent upon the turf as an 
official, Mr. Fitzgerald has positive and uncompromising 
ideas in regard to his duties and touching the best inter- 
ests of all over whom he 
is called upon to exer- 
cise authority. His first 
service at the Aqueduct 
Course in the spring of 
1898, tested him severe- 
ly, and the general satis- 
faction that his work 
gave was the best evi- 
dence to show his emi- 
nent fitness. His subse- 
quent career at Morris 
Park, Gravesend and the 
other metropolitan 
courses, served only to 
reinforce the good opin- 
ion originally formed of 
him and to establish 
him firmer than ever 
in public favor. A man 
of advanced ideas, Mr. 
Fitzgerald is always 
wide awake in seeking 
new methods by which 
the efficiency of racing 
and its general attrac- 
tiveness shall be en- 
h a n c ed. He believes 
that the old method of 
starting horses must in 
time be entirely super- 
seded by the starting 
machine. Recognizing 
that, with the young- 
sters who have never 
had previous experience with the machine, the arrange- 
ment may have cei'tain disadvantages, he holds that upon 
the whole, it is a wonderful saving of time. 

He confidently hopes that the Jockey Club will ulti- 
mately make a rule requiring owners to school their 
horses for the gate, and he believes that when the young- 
sters are thus trained, the improvement in racing by 
securing better starts will be of the most important 
character. 



437 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



f 



It seems only yesterday that Mr. William J. Fitzpatrick 
was still active in turf affairs. Born at Mt. Holly, N. J., 
December lo, 1861, he began his experiences in April, 
1875, in the stable of Mr. Pierre Lorillard. and never 
ceased to be identified with racing affairs until the time 
of his death in February, 1898. For six consecutive 
seasons he rode for the Rancocas Stable, his first winning 
mount being on Huckleberry at Saratoga in 1877. He 
never entirely relinquished his connection with the stable 
to which he was first attached. He often had mounts 
for Mr. Lorillard at various times down to 1891. 

From the beginning of his career he made a strong 
impression on all who witnessed his work, as being one of 
the very best riders that have 
ever appeared in the saddle 
upon the American track. 
He had perfect command of 
his mounts, with full confi- 
dence in himself, and a judg- 
ment so remarkably correct 
that it was often exercised 
with a startling dash and 
abandon that earned for him 
the famous title of "Dare- 
devil Fitz." Being recog- 
nized in the highest racing 
circles as one who inspired 
confidence by the clear cut 
character of his work and 
the correct attitude he ever 
maintained towards owners 
and public, he had, so long 
as he remained in the saddle, 
the pick of mounts in num- 
berless fomous races. For 
many years he was one of 
the highest salaried jockeys 
on the American turf, and 
rode for such prominent 
owners as Messrs. Pierre 
Lorillard, Marcus Daly, Com- 
modore N. F. Kittson, A. F. Walcott, Edward Corrigan, 
S. S. Brown, Daniel Swigert, James Murphy and many 
others. For Commodore Kittson he rode for three years, 
and for Mr. William C. Daly a similar period, in the 
latter case riding in both fiat and hurdle races. Mr. D. 
D. Withers had him under retainer for two seasons, and 
for Mr. Walcott's racing establishment he was the 
premier jockey for one year. 

Fitzpatrick was the conspicuous figure in some of the 
most sensational racing events of the contemporaneous 
American turf. His victory on Troubadour in the Subur- 
ban of 188(5 will be handed down in turf history for 
generations. It was in this race that one of the most 





notable " killings" was made in American racing annals, 
Mr. S. S. Brown, and those who put their faith upon his 
stable, being winners to the amount of many thousands 
of dollars. In 1882, he rode Marion C. in a special 
$10,000 race against Kingston, winning after an exciting 
struggle. In the same year he also trained Carlsbad, 
Michael and several other good horses for a prominent 
Kentuckian. He came near to being a winner of the 
Futurity in 1892 on Morello, but at the last moment the 
mount was given to Hayward, while Fitz had the 
"leg-up" on Hyderabad, who was crossed during the 
race and fell. In 1895, he became the owner of Joe 
Ripley, whom he ran at Saratoga successfully in seven 

races, and altervv/ards a t 
Providence, R. 1., where he 
secured five events, after 
which he sold the horse to a 
California owner for $6,000. 
As a rider, few, if any of 
his contemporaries, sur- 
passed Fitzpatrick in cour- 

'i^K fH ^^^' ^'^^ '^^ would often 

"^ir IB take a chance to pass through 

a field of horses when the 
task seemed almost an im- 
possible one. His wonder- 
ful nerve never failed him, 
and carried him through 
many desperate situations 
where a weaker man would 
have lamentably failed. He 
rode with equal facility and 
success on the flat and over 
the hurdles, his peculiar 
finish and style being par- 
ticularly noticeable in the 
latter kind of racing. 
Throughout his career as a 
jockey he had a good record 
of integrity aud single- 
minded devotion to his em- 
ployers, and thousands of the older generation of racing 
people and the habitues of the turf whose remembrances 
go back some years will long have a warm corner in 
their hearts for " Daredevil Fitz." 

After he had become too heavy to ride, and following 
his brief experience as an owner, he turned his attention 
to starting, and filled that exacting position on many 
tracks, including Saratoga, Buffalo, Washington, Provi- 
dence, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, and elsewhere. 
His success with the flag was of a noted character, and 
he gave the fullest satisfaction to racing officials, owners 
and the public. His death undoubtedly cut short a bril- 
liant career in official connection with racing. 




WILLIAM J. FITZPATRICK 



438 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



An enthusiastic love for his chosen pursuit is the true 
secret of success in a physiciiui. This is true, not only 
in that branch of medical practice which refers to human 
beings, but also to that which has the domestic animals 
as its special care. Perhaps even more than the practi- 
tioner of the former class, the veterinarian must be im- 
bued with purely scientific enthusiasm, in the case of 
the individual who ministers to the ailments of his 
fellow-beings, there is a human interest as a source of in- 
spiration and of resultant reward. This is lacking in the 
case of the veterinarian. For him there can be only an 
admiration and sympathetic feeling for the representa- 
tives of the brute creation with whom his professional 
practice biings him into ac- 
quaintance. 

The physician to the hii- 
man family has no deepei' 
interest in his patients, nor 
is he more devoted to the 
scientific consideration of 
their ailments, than is the 
enthusiastic veterinarian. It 
is this spirit that has carried 
most practitioners in this 
branch of medical science 
to success, and in the pro- 
fession William Sheppard, 
M. R. C. V. S., is a con- 
spicuous example of what 
devotion to his practice 
and a constant endeavor to 
elevate it in every way has 
accomplished. Basing his 
practice upon the most ad- 
vanced scientific principles. 
Dr. Sheppard has won the 
confidence of the horse- 
owning public and has 
earned a high position in 
the American racing world, 

while it would be easy to cite numberless instances in 
which his skill has restored what were regarded as 
" hopeless cases " to their place in the racing stable and 
upon the track. 

Dr. Sheppard was born March i6, 1849, in Southchard, 
Somersetshire, England. Having completed his prelim- 
inary education he was, after the English custom, at the 
age of fifteen, articled to C. W. Blake, a noted veteri- 
narian at Crew-Kerne, Somersetshire. During his early 
experiences he devoted special attention to the hoof and 
the shoeing of the horse, which bore excellent fruit in 
subsequent studies and practice. After three years of 
such training and study he was prepared for a course at 
the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in London. 

439 




DR. WILLIAM SHEPPARD 



Entering this famous institution, Dr. Sheppard received 
the diploma which enrolled him as one of its members 
on April 21, 1870. On the following day he received 
from its President, Professor Williiim Pritchard, a fellow- 
ship of the London Veterinary Medical Association, an 
honor conferred in recognition of an essay upon " Lame- 
ness in the Horse " which he had read and defended be- 
fore the members of the Association. 

Exeter, Devonshire, was chosen as the place in which 
he began the practice of his profession. He was success- 
ful from the start and attained an excellent practice during 
his two years' residence there. The field was, however, 
too limited, and after four years' further practice in the 

adjoining town of Tiverton, 
he resolved, in 1878, to 
visit America. 

While visiting friends in 
Ottawa, 111.. Dr. Sheppard 
was asked to prescribe for 
some severe cases in one of 
the large stables there, and 
treated them with marked 
success. He wasacordingly 
urged to make Ottawa his 
residence, and there, in 
November, 1878, he com- 
menced to regularly prac- 
tice in America. Among the 
noted and valuable horses 
which he successfully treat- 
ed while in Ottawa may be 
mentioned Charley Ford, 
Argonaut, Colonel Dawes, 
Buchanan, Foxie V, Little 
Fred, Lucy, Freeland, 
Monarch Rule, Red Cloud 
and Young Wilkes, includ- 
ing, it will be seen, some 
of the cracks of the trot- 
ting turf. 
Called in consultation upon high-priced stock in the 
East, as he frequently was, Dr. Sheppard finally deter- 
mined to remove there, and in 1888 established himself 
at Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, where he has gained 
both success and fame. He has organized a large infir- 
mary for horses on Neck Road, near the Sheepshead Bay 
track, which is in every respect a model establishment, 
and which has numbered among its four-footed patients 
some of the most celebrated modern horses. Unassum- 
ing in his character, but untiring in his chosen work, Dr. 
Sheppard makes no parade of his wide scientific attain- 
ment, but wisely allows that and his skill, both practi- 
cal and theoretical, to speak for themselves in the 
remarkable results he so constantly accomplishes. 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



In choosing the profession in which he has become 1,500 sheep and hogs, for the purpose of investigating 
so eminently distinguished, Dr. Ohver C. Farley, V. S., and preventing the mortality among the animals. This 
was particularly influenced by the fact that from his ear- he did with great success, proving that Texas fever was 
liest days he was associated with horsemen and familiar due to acute indigestion, the result of treatment in ac- 
with horses. Born in Chelsea, Mass., November 25, cordance with his diagnosis being that the death rate 
i8s2. Dr. Farlev received his preparatory education at was reduced to a minimum, so that a vast amount of 
the celebrated Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass. At money has since been saved to shippers of cattle, 
that institution of learning, Emmons and Walker Blaine, In 1881. a few days after his last voyage on the Brazil- 
sons of the late jnmes G. Blaine, were among his school lian, Dr. Farley engaged with Mr. Charles Reed to act 



as veterinary at the hitter's famous Saratoga breeding 
establishment, and smce that time he has practiced ex- 

c I u s i V e 1 V among 
thoroughbred horses. 
His next move from 
the Reed stable was 
to one of the foremost 
racing and breeding 
establishments in the 
United States, that of 
Mr. Pierre Lorillard, 
at Rancocas. For 
four years, Dr. Far- 
ley had the respon- 
sible place of veteri- 
nary there, during 
which time the Ran- 
cocas stable headed 
the winning list each 
year. After the fam- 
ous sale of Mr. Loril- 
lard's horses, when 
Cyclops, Pontiac, 
Volunteer, and the 
other cracks were dis- 
persed, Dr. Farley 
transferred his ser- 
vices to the stable of 
Mr. Frank A. Ehret, 
which for that year 
showed the largest 
winnings of any es- 
tablishment on the 
turf. Dr. Farley had, 
however, now be- 
come so widely 

Farley's next professional engagement was not only in- known, and his services were in such general request, 
teresting. but was fraught with importance to the coun- that he was compelled to give up confining his attention 
try at large. The loss of cattle and live stock shipped to to any one stable. His acquaintance among the most 
Europe had at that time risen to large proportions, and prominent horsemen of the country has always been 
threatened to make the business unprofitable. As a last of the widest. His practice now extends all over 
resort, the Warren Steamship Company engaged Dr. the East, and he is called to many of the prominent 
Farley, as veterinary surgeon, to make regular voyages stables when the horses go amiss, while merely the 
on their large steamship the Brazilian, which carried names of the celebrated runners that have owed their 
about 400 head of cattle, 300 horses, and from 1,200 to success to his care would make a lengthy roll. 

440 



mates and intimate friends. After completing his course 
of instruction there, he entered the Montreal Veterinary 
College, then, in 1S75, 
under the celebrated 
Professor McEachran. 
He remained there 
until 1875, when he 
was graduated, hav- 
ing been noted as a 
most diligent student, 
giving up even his 
vacations to his stud- 
ies. Professor Mc- 
Eachran was at that 
time the most promi- 
nent veterinarian in 
the East, his practice 
extending over a 
large portion of the 
countiy. 

After his gradua- 
tion. Dr. Farley re- 
turned to Boston, but 
soon after removed to 
the West and began 
to practice in Cleve- 
land, O., where he re- 
mained two years. 
Among his patients 
at this time, was the 
great trotter Smug- 
gler, whom he at- 
tended throughout 
the Grand Circuit, 
when he defeated 
Goldsmith Maid. Dr. 




DR. OLIVER C. FARLEY 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Modern progress in veterin.-try science hns been stimu- 
lated by the importance of thoroughbred interests in the 
United States and the demands made upon its resources 
in that direction. Accordingly, it is among the members 
of the profession who have devoted their attention to the 
thoroughbred and whose practice is in the principle rac- 
ing stables of the country that the leaders in this branch 
of medical and surgical science must be sought. They 
have brought veterinary practice to its present state of 
proficiency and have 
made it of incalcul- 
able importance to 
the horse owning and 
horse loving world. 

One of the first 
names that comes to 
the minds of horse- 
men of thecountrv in 
this connection, is 
that of M. R. Wiener, 
D. V. S. Not only 
has Dr. Wiener been 
among the most origi- 
nal and ablest inno- 
vaters in his calling, 
but the success that 
has accompanied his 
methods and the skill 
that he has exhibited 
have given him a re- 
pute throughout rac- 
ing circles. As a 
specialist in certain 
lines of practice and a 
consulting expert in 
serious cases he occu- 
pies a position that is 
at once unique and 
valuable. Many are 
the instances where 
demands for his serv- 
ices have been of im- 
perative necessity and 
he has always proved 
himself equal to the 

most exacting emergency. Born at Buffalo, N. Y., Dr. 
Wiener received his collegiate education at Cornell Uni- 
versity and the University of Wisconsin. He began his 
professional training at the National Veterinary College 
and continued it at the United States College of Veterinary 
Surgeons, Washington, D. C, from which institution he 
was one of the first graduates with the degree of Doctor 




Dr. M. R. wiener 



Surgeon in the United States College of Veterinary Sur- 
geons. Entering upon his profession Dr. Wiener has 
now been in active service for several years and has a 
(irmly established position in the world of American 
horsemen. He is a successful practitioner in all branches, 
but in one specialty he is unexcelled. That is dentistry 
as applied to horses. 

In that connection he has revolutionized the ideas of 
breeders and horse owners, and made innovations in 

the hitherto accepted 
methods of his own 
department o f sci- 
ence. He has dem- 
onstrated that in a 
large numberof cases, 
where disease of the 
teeth is the starting 
point of a horse's ail- 
ment, the trouble can 
be remedied by skil- 
ful operations f o r 
which he has even 
devised the instru- 
ments with which 
they are performed. 
He has shown that 
such treatment and 
the operations upon 
horses incident to it, 
c a n be performed 
m'o r e quicklv and 
with less pain than 
the same class ot 
work upon the hu- 
man being. It would 
be impossible to even 
indicate briefly the 
many different opera- 
tions he has perform- 
ed or to specify the 
individual cases in 
which their use has 
been attended by 
most gratifying and 
successful results. 
It is sufficient, as a proof of the esteem in which he is 
held, not only by owners, but by the members of his 
own profession as well, to say that where any expert 
dental work is required, he is invariably called in and 
that his services are thus in constant request. Among 
his many clients are the pick of American racing owners, 
such as Messrs. A. H. & D. H. Morris, H. K. Knapp, 



of Veterinary Science. He also filled for a year the posi- James R. Keene. W. C. Whitney, F. R. & T. Hitchcock, 
tion of Demonstrator of Anatomy and Assistant House C. Fleischmann's Sons and numerous others. 

441 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



There is no better school in which to acquire complete 
knowledge of the horse than in close and practical 
acquaintance with the animals themselves. This is as 
true of veterinary practice as it is of any other branch of 
the intricate business connected with the breeding and 
racing of thoroughbreds. No unfair comp;irison should 
be instituted between the learned practitioners of the 
veterinary profession and those who have brought to it 
simply the knowledge and the skill derived from prac- 
tical experience, rather than from book knowledge or 
collegiate instruction. 
Many examples of the 
success of this latter 
class of practitioners 
in the general medical 
world will readily re- 
cur to the thoughtful 
reader. Even a larger 
number could per- 
haps be quoted in 
treating of veterinary 
science, since, as it 
would appear, more 
than in most other 
professions, the re- 
quisite knowledge 
and skill can in a 
great measure be de- 
rived from actual 
practice. 

Prominent among 
these natural veteri- 
narians is Dr. John 
M. Bishop. He was 
born September 4, 
1850, in Red Rock, 
N. Y., and has been 
associated with horses 
throughout his entire 
life. As a boy he 
worked on a farm, and 
also was connected 
with the stable of Mr. 
Seymore Williams, of 

Pine Grove, N. Y. In this stable he was engaged as an 
exercise boy, with trotting horses, for about two years. 
During the ensuing five years he was attached to the 
stable of Mr. E. Bradbury, training the horses in that 
gentleman's stable and driving them in races. He was 
a good horseman and drew the reins over such fieet ones 
as Berkshire Boy. Frank Miller, Tom Suffick, Frank 
Smith and Katskill Girl. In 1871, he came to New York, 
and the following year located in Brooklyn. In 1878, 
he went to Europe with several trotters that he sold in 




DR. JOHN M. BISHOP 



London and then returned home. During all this time 
he had practiced privately, and in Brooklyn built up a 
very large and valuable clipping business. During one 
winter alone he clipped some seven hundred horses. 
Having a good knowledge of horse nature, he applied 
himself particularly to the study of dentistry, and in 1880 
started in practice in that line. He sold out the clipping 
business, and has since devoted himself largely to his 
dental practice with some other business issues in addi- 
tion. As a dentist he has attended nearly every horse 

of prominence in this 
generation. Much of 
his practice has been 
of an original charac- 
ter, and in the course 
of his work he has 
patented sixteen in- 
struments that he has 
letained for his own 
personal use. He has 
an intimate acquaint- 
ance with all the 
horsemen, of the East 
especially, while own- 
ers as far away as 
California entrust 
their horses to him, 
often reserving their 
work until they are 
able to come East 
with their stables. 

At one time Dr. 
Bishop had all the 
work of the Broadway 
Street Railway Com- 
pany, until 1 888, when 
the cable was substi- 
tuted for horse pow- 
er. He has also had 
the work of several of 
the largest livery 
stables in New York 
and vicinity, and many 
of the old veterans 
continue to send their horses to him for treatment now, 
as for many years past. As the proprietor of Bishop's 
Hotel, on the Brooklyn Boulevard, he is known to every 
sport-loving individual who frequents that neighbor- 
hood. For thirty-five years he has been in public life, 
and for nearly twenty years has been in the active 
work of his profession. His success has been of a nota- 
ble character, and has resulted wholly from his natural 
aptitude for horses and his skill in divining the best way 
of treating them. 



442 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Duiiriij the present quarter of a centurv veterinary 
science has made a progress not surpassed in extent and 
importance by any of its compeers. The value of tiie 
investigation undertai<en in its interest has been fully 
recognized as years have gone by. and its position as 
one of the leai'ned professions has become fiimlv estab- 
lished. The application of medicine and sLirgery to tiie 
dLimb creation, and more particularly to the eciuine fam- 
ily, has presented scientitic problems of the highest value. 
not alone to the owners of animals, but also to the in- 
vestigators who have devoted themselves to this pursuit. 
The science has demanded of its practitioners a sound 
knowledge and an undoubted skill in no way inferior to 
that in the medical profession at large. 

Nor can we look upon this subject wholly from the 
standpoint of the scientist, no heed how vitally impor- 
tant to the general community, as well as to the equine 
creation that may be. There is an economic side that 
presses imperatively upon consideration. Readers of 
this volume have undoubtedly been already impressed 
with a sense of the enormous sums of money that are 
now invested in high class horseflesh. The preservation 
of these animals becomes a matter of supreme impor- 
tance from the financial, as well as from the purely 
humanitarian, point of view. It is at this point that 
veterinary science steps in and has proved itself to be of 
incalculable value in saving the lives or in restoring the 
usefulness of these thoroughbreds, and therefore preserv- 
ing more intact the capital that is invested in them. This 
is an item of great importance to the owners' of our large 
breeding establishments and stables, and purely from 
the business point of view is even an economic benefit 
to the community at large. Formerly, there was much 
waste, and to the veterinary profession must be credited 
great improvement in recent times. 

It is true that this development of veterinary learning 
and skill has not been confined to this country. It has 
been a marked feature of modern scientific advancement 
in the Old World, especially in England. Nevertheless, 
the United States has taken a foremost place in this on- 
ward march, and has produced professors and practition- 
ers whose originality, sound reasoning and spirit of 
investigation have rivaled their brethren across the 
Atlantic, and whose work in every particular has carried 
them to the front rank of their calling. The ideas of 
these American veterinary adepts have become fully 
established and have even had an impression upon this 
school of medical practice abroad. 

As has already been indicated, the institution of breed- 
ing and racing the thoroughbred horse in the United 
States has mainly fostered the progress that has been 
made in connection with veterinary medicine and sur- 
gery. The demands made by the needs of horses of 
inferior class and of other domesticated animals have 



been much more contracted and in every way of lesser 
importance than those that have resulted from the thor- 
oughbred interests. The multiplication of high class 
animals has, as we have frequently seen, created a 
special and strong demand for the services of experts in 
handling them. This demand has extended to the 
veterinary profession, so that there is a constant and 
urgent call foi' the highest skill among those who care 
for and overcome the ailings of the noble coursers. 

Few members of this important profession have better 
standing or have rendered more valuable service to the 
thoroughbreds whose healthful condition has been made 
the supreme study of his life, than R. H. Waters. IX V. 
S. Born in New Utrecht. L. I.. July ii, iSh^. Dr. 
Waters has never known the time when he was not 
interested in horses. He really came by his inclination 
toward veterinary practice as a matter of family inheri- 
tance. His grandfather and two uncles were prominent 
veterinarians, being among the early practitioners in 
Brooklyn. Dr. Waters, after a thorough preparatory 
education, entered the Veterinary College of Columbia 
University in 1880, and was graduated therefrom in 
1884. The same year he began the active practice of 
his profession, locating at Far Rockaway, where he re- 
mained for five years. His success was of the most 
gratifying character to him, and demonstrated that he 
was well grounded in the principles of that branch of 
medical practice to which he was devoting himself. 

Subsequently, for a short period. Dr. Waters was in 
partnership with Dr. Ash, who at that time was in the 
employ of Mr. J. H. Shults, the well-known business 
man, who had a large interest in horses. When Dr. Ash 
gave up his practice in the vicinity of New York to locate 
elsewhere. Dr. Waters continued his professional work 
alone, and about 1890, began to find his services in great 
demand among prominent turfmen. His specialty is 
gelding operations performed while the horse is standing, 
and in this particular line he has the reputation of being 
one of the most successful in the country. He has been 
employed constantly for years by many of the leading 
turfmen of the period. His patrons have included 
Messrs. August Belmont, James R. Keene, David Gideon. 
J. W. Rogers. F. R. Hitchcock, the Dwyer Brothers, L. 
S. & W. P. Thompson and others. With only an occa- 
sional exception, all the horsemen whose names are best 
known to the turf world and whose thoroughbred inter- 
ests are of the most conspicuous importance, have in- 
trusted their horses to his care. It is generally agreed 
among them that in his particular branch of practice 
there is none superior in the United States. Learned in 
all the details of his profession, and especially skilful in 
those matters that depend upon clear-headedness, as 
well as sound knowledge, he has a deservedly high 
reputation that is fully warranted by his success. 



443 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Everybody in the racing world knows and lii<es 
"Jack " Adler, by wliich abbreviation of liis full name 




The experience of Mr. Albert Adler with the turf dates 
back for a score of years. It began in the days of the 
old American Jockey Club, and for nearly all of the 
period in question his connection with racing matters 
has been of an official nature. He is a native of New 
York City, where he was born November 21, 18S9. He 
received his education in the public schools, and before 
he was of age was identified with the official staff of the 
leading Eastern race tracks. His first position was that 
of announcer in the betting ring. After some years he 
became connected with the establishment of Mr. William 
Astor, who had a racing stable and took considerable inter- 
est in the sport. This engagement lasted for two years. 

In 1879, Mr. Adler again returned to the turf in an 
official capacity. The post to which he was appointed 
and has continued to fill is a very important one, requir- 
ing great care and attention, and is. moreover, one that 
the authorities of the racing world could intrust only to 
a gentleman of proved fidelity. His duties are to see 
that the jockeys carry their correct weights, and that all 
othei' details in this connection are strictly observed, the 
information being afterward displayed upon the boards 
for the benefit of the public. Mr. Adler fills his exacting 
role in a highly successful manner. The best proof of 
this is that he is engaged in the same work year after 



JOHN J. ADLER 

Mr. John J. Adler is called all over the counti'y. He 
ranks among the veterans of the turf, and has been con- 
nected with racing for many years as official announcer. 
Mr. Adler was born in New York City in 1869. His first 
position on a race track was when he filled the place of 
assistant starter under Mr. J. C. Carr. One of the neces- 
sary and important duties at the tracks is the announce- 
ment in the betting ring of the official results displayed 
by the judges. Exhibiting unusual natural capabilities 
for the office, Mr. Adler received the appointment of 
official announcer in 1887, and has acted in that capacity 
ever since. He has a voice of exceptional power and 
quality, loud and far-reaching, while at the same time 
his enunciation is so clear and distinct that not a syllable 
is lost to hearers anywhere within its range. Its owner 
has won for himself the fame of being the " champion 
announcer " of the world. 

Having officiated during the past ten years at all the 
principal tracks, Mr. Adler is personally acquainted with 
practically the entire racing world, officials, owners, 
trainers, jockeys, bookmakers and patrons of the spoit, 
and has won a host of friends among them. He is 
strictly temperate, pays the closest attention to his busi- 
ness, and is, withal, one of the most courteous and 
kindly officials connected with the sport. When his 
regular duties permit, he is often called upon to act as 
announcer at athletic and other events. 




ALBERT ADLER 



year at all the impoi'tant ti'acks. and is thoroughly liked 
by horsemen of all conditions and classes. 



444 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



From the time that he was eleven vears of age, Mr. 
Thomas S. Ford has been continually itientilied with rac- 




THOMAS S. FORD 

ing affairs. He is a native of New Jersey, having been 
born in Newark in 1862. His boyhood days were spent 
at home, and he attended the public schools, where he 
received a good education. At the customary youthful 
age of young aspirants for turf honors, he engaged to 
work as exercise boy in the celebrated Rancocas Stable 
of Mr. Pierre Lorillard at Jobstown. His experience in 
this establishment was not only of an agreeable char- 
acter, but it secured for him a training that was simply 
invaluable in the pursuits to which he has since devoted 
himself. In the Rancocas Stable at that time were the 
f.mious Parole. Iroquois and other champions, and his 
accjuaintance with them was in itself an education in 
regard to the blood horse family. 

For four years the lad exercised and rode the horses of 
the Rancocas Stable, and was also engaged to some 
extent by outside owners. At the expiration of his con- 
tract with Mr. Lorillard he engaged to ride for Mr. E. H. 
McGee, riding such horses as Pilson, Mamie S. and 
others. Remaining with Mi'. McGee for five years, he 
next engaged as trainer for Mr. C. L. Carter, and during 
his two years' connection with that establishment he 
trained such horses as Warsaw, Pigeon and others of 
their class. Offered a position under the administiation 
of The Jockey Club, he accepted, and has since retained 
that connection. At the present time he is assistant 
patrol judge and superintendent of numbers and jockeys. 



All of Mr. F. A. Heckler's immediate family are musi- 
cians by profession, though one of his uncles, Mr. 
Augustus Heckler, is better known to the public by 
reason of a lifelong connection with the stage, having 
been for many years with Edwin Booth in his dramatic 
tours as manager, and has also been identified with The 
Dramatic News. Mr. Heckler was born in New York 
City, February 4, i86q, and received a thorough musical 
education, intending to make music his avocation. He 
was related to gentlemen more or less prominent upon 
the turf, particularly Mr. Thomas Croft, the ex-Secretary 
of the Monmouth Park Association, and also by marriage 
to Mr. 1). 1). Withers. It was accordingly at Monmouth, 
in the season of i88s, that he had his first experience. 

Prior to 1888, the summoning of horses to the post 
had been attended with difticulty and it was suggested 
that a call uponjhe bugle should be substituted. Officia- 
ting at the first experiment, Mr. Heckler has since con- 




F. A. HECKLER 

tinned to act in the .same capacity 
courses in the East. 



the race 



445 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Mr. Frank M. Bray has had nearly twenty years of active 
connection with racins; affairs. Beo-innins: at the lowest 







FRANK M. BRAY 

round of the ladder, he has climbed steadily upward until 
he has come to hold responsible and important positions. 
He was born at Cheltenham, Montgomery County, Pa.. 
March lo, 1866. His first acquaintance with thorough- 
bred horses began in 1879, when he was engaged by 
Mr. John Henrv as exercise boy. In the Henry Stable 
were such runners as Blush Rose. Odd Fellow and others 
of their class, and with them the lad had an altogether 
agreeable acquaintance. Leaving the stable of Mr. Henry, 
in 188^. he went to Texas, and there was engaged to 
train for Mr. H. B. Sanborn. Soon after, he brought 
several horses East, and ran them with fair success. 
Afterward he had in training Juggler, a speedy, but un- 
reliable animal; Tenafly, Englewood and a few other 
horses of lesser importance, who were members of the 
string of Colonel Comegys. 

Soon after, he trained the Schuylkill Stable, in which 
were Burlington. La Tosca, Drizzle, Come to Taw, 
Saunterer. Granite and Forest King, all of whom were 
stake winners. He also trained Lord Harry, another 
stake winner, and brought him into condition so that he 
won many races. He had that horse until the animal 
broke down and was retired. When the Arlington 
track was opened, Mr. Bray was appointed starter, and 
subsequently was asked to preside as judge at both the 
Singerly and Iron Hill Tracks, in Maryland, where his 
services were of a very efficient character, 



Before he became connected with the turf, Mr. lohn 
I). Levien had a substantial business experience, which, 
as has been frequently remarked in these pages, consti- 
tutes a very desirable basis for the career of a man who 
hopes to achieve success on the speculative side of rac- 
ing. His father, who is still living, is Mr. Douglas A. 
Levien, a well-known lawyer, and at one time Corpora- 
tion Counsel of the City of Brooklyn. His mother came 
from a prominent Southern family, her father being a 
wealthy planter before the war and a brave soldier in 
the Confederate Army. Mi'. Levien was born in Brook- 
lyn and educated in the public schools of New York City. 
He was graduated from Grammar School No. sq, and 
also studied in the College of the City of New York. 

He was not altogether without racing alliances even 
in his business days, his uncle, Mr. Ridge C. Levien, be- 
ing one of the old-timers identified with the track. Natu- 
rally, therefore, the younger Mr. Levien was attracted 
toward the sport, and when his uncle made him an offer 
that was exceptionally liberal in the way of salary, he 
felt that his future was well open before him. Dropping 
commercial pursuits, he entered at once upon the voca- 
tion with which he has now been identified since early 
in the eighties. With his uncle, he opened up at Jerome 
Park on that historic day when Tvrant won the With- 
ers Stakes. Since then he has tilled with satisfaction and 
with advantage to himself every position known in the 
bookmaker's business. He is a bright, pushing man, 
verv popular among his friends and business associates, 
and handles the monev of the public interested in racing 
affairs in large amounts, giving satisfaction to all with 
whom he has dealings. 

Born in New York City, October 22, 1848, and edu- 
cated in the public schools, Mr. James Clare was first 
employed at the age of eighteen in the service of the 
American Jockey Club at Jerome Park. For fourteen 
vears he remained with that famous race course, filling 
faithfully and capably many subordinate positions in con- 
nection with the track. In 1880, he made a change, 
however, ;ind accepted the office of superintendent and 
starter for the Brighton Beach Racing Association. There 
he has since remained, being still the superintendent, 
although after 1882, he ceased to act as starter, his whole 
time and attention being requiied by the care of the track, 
stables, stands and other accessories of that popular estab- 
lishment. All the many details of construction and man- 
agement that have characterized the Brighton Beach track, 
have been largely the result of his skill and indefatigable 
labor. In addition to his regular engagement at Brighton, 
he has also been frequently consulted or employed in the 
laying out or the construction of other race tracks, notably 
that at Clifton, N. J. He has also acted as superintendent 
at Buffalo, Ivy City and Bennings. Mr. Clare is a man 
of untiring activity of mind and body, 



446 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



For somethins: approaching two decades, Mr. Hdward 
E. Williams has been connected in various capacities 
with racing affairs. Few men of the day have had a 
wider or more varied experience and enjoy a greater 
familiarity with thoroughbreds or a largei' personal 
actiuaintance. alike with those who direct racing affairs 
and those who are merely spectators of the great equine 
contests. He is a native ot New York Citv. where he 
was born May =;, 18(52. He received a good education, 
and although he entered upon a racing career compara- 
tively early, he was ahead of most of the bovs of his 
time in years and in substantial equipment foi' his pro- 
fession. His first turf e.xperience was when he became 
connected with the stable of Mr. Pierre Lorillard as a 
rider. Remaining with the Lorillard establishment for a 
considerable length of time, Williams tlnallv gave up his 
position there and returned to New York. 

In the winter of 18S4, he went to New Orleans, and 
remained several months. Returning East for the sum- 
mer, in the following winter he went to New Orleans 
again, where he worked for some considerable time. 
From New Orleans he went to Birmingham. Ala., and 



Although now leading a quiet life. Mr, Samuel G. 
Storm has been for many years a notable figure in the 
racing world, and is a representative of the best element 
among the professional betting men whose support is so 
necessary to the running turf, not only in a direct pecun- 
iary sense, but also on account of the popularity they 
give to the sport with a very large section of the general 
public. 

Mr. Stoiin was born at Gravesend, N. Y., August 27, 
18^7. and has continued to make that place his perma- 
nent residence. For a number of years he was engaged 
successfully in business, but in 1881. began his racing 
experiences as a poolseller. For many years he was 
one of the best known men in that business, and estab- 
lished a reputation for correct methods and upright deal- 
ing that won for him the respect of all who follow the 
turf. He was exceedingly successful, and was noted 
for the conservatism which he observed throughout his 
tLirf career. As he describes it. his record contains no 
instances of phenomenal winnings or losses. It was 
rather one of small and continuous profits. At the same 
time, his attention to business was of the strictest kind, 



there became well known for the skill which he dis- and in the course of the long period during which he 



played in riding half-mile heats. His next employer was 
Mr. Sigmund Cohen, who owned Bootblack, Rio Grande 
and others. For the Cohen Stable he was engaged some 
time. Mr. Bud Pulford was another of his employers, 
and while with him Williams won some $18,000. Mr. 
Pulford had a very good stable, and one of his string. 
Drumstick, was very speedy. Williams was engaged 
with the Pulford Stable for a considerable length of time, 
and that, too, very successfully. He rode many races at 
Latonia and elsewhere on the Western and Southern cir- 
cuit. After a time he went to Chicago and participated 
in some of the leading racing events upon the race 
courses of the Garden City. 

During his career up to this time he had been very 
fortunate. He had made considerable money, and, 
being thoughtful and thrifty, invested it in houses and 
other property, in addition to buying the pleasant home 
in Brooklyn that he has since occupied. He also pur- 
chased real estate in Orange. N. J., and elsewhere. 
When the time came that he was obliged to leave the 
saddle on account of increasing weight, he engaged in 
training, his first connection being with the stable of 
Mr. Edward Gwynne. His experience as a trainer lasted 
only a short time, for he found that he could make more 
money by operating on the speculative side of racing 
than by riding or training. In recent years he has been 
prominent in his present occupation on all the tracks in 
the country. He has been a courageous bettor, but 
never reckless, while his judgment as to the form of 
horses has brought him many good results. He nuist 
be regarded one of the prosperous turfmen of the day. 



tlgured as one of the foremost poolsellers in the country 
there was scarcely an important race meeting at which 
he failed to be present or a notable race which he did 
not witness. 

The legislative prohibition of poolselling in this and 
other States finally caused Mr. Storm to retire from the 
business. His own personal views on the subject of 
betting in relation to the turf are valuable, both as those 
of an expert and in addition as coming from one whose 
success was attained by honorable methods and a regard 
for the best interests of racing. He. in company with 
others of similar professional standing, holds that the old 
method of bookmaking openly conducted and of mutuel 
pools is the only feasible one by which the turf itself can 
profit, and the inclination of the general public to back 
its opinions be satisfied. 

At one time his racing interests took a wider form, 
and the success of the small stable which he organized 
was a tribute alike to his knowledge of horseflesh and 
of the business capacity which has been his distinguish- 
ing characteristic. Among the horses which he owned 
and raced was the well-known performer Pat Daly. 

Among Mr. Storm's many friends his continued retire- 
ment from the turf is attributed in a measure to domestic 
reasons of an exceedingly agreeable character. Not long 
ago he married a lady. Miss Jones, of Gravesend. pos- 
sessed of a considerable fortune in her own right. Since 
then home life has apparently possessed the largest 
attractions foi him, while the enjoyment of his driving 
horses and other pleasures of a retired existence seem to 
agreeably fill out his leisure time, 



447 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Among the factors that have contributed most power- 
fully toward the public knowledge of running races in 
the United States the Official Turf Guide, published by 
Messrs. Frederick S. and John Goodwin, composing the 
firm of Goodwin Brothers, holds a leading place. Within 
the entire realm of sports there is no publication at once 
so necessary and so complete as that which the Ameri- 
can turf enjoys in the form of this Guide. The begin- 
nings of the publication were humble. The first num- 
ber, issued in i8Si, was a small pamphlet of sixteen 
pages, containing the records of all races run in the pre- 
ceding week. This weekly publication was continued 
during the year, and in 1882. weekly and monthly 
editions were issued, while in January, 188^, the tlrm 
brought out the tli'st of its annual publications. 

Principally through the influence of the late Mr. I). 1). 
Withers, the leading racing bodies of the country shortly 
stamped the Guide with their approval, as has also The 
Jockey Club and the Western Turf Congress. Since 
i8q^. the annual has become a two-volume publication, 
each volume covering the racing for half of the year. 
Many new featui'es have been from time to lime incor- 
porated in the Guide, which has become unquestionably 
the most valuable turf compendium ever known to this 
country, while it rivals in importance anything of the knd 
that has ever been attempted, even in England, the home 
of thoroughbred racing. 

One of the best known figures in American racing of 
the present day has been Mr. Charles H. Pettingill, who 
was recently the efficient starter of the Eastern tracks 
under contract with The Jockey Club. He has had a 
long and successful experience in that official capacity at 
other meetings in the country outside the metropolitan 
district, and has attained to rank as a veteran of the turf. 
He is a native of the State of Maine, and received an 
academic education there. During the Civil War he 
served in the Union Army, and won the rank of Captain. 
After the war had ended he settled in Charleston, S. C, 
and engaged in wholesale business, and for one term, 
during the administration of President Grant, held the 
office of Assessor of Internal Revenue. About this time 
he began his experiences with the turf, becoming a part- 
ner with Mr. W. P. Burch in the ownership of a racing 
stable. Upon the dissolution of this partnership Mr. 
Pettingill continued to race horses on his own account. 

Withdrawing from ownership, he entered into the 
business of furnishing poolrooms with telegraphic news 
of the races. Late in the eighties he became a starter at 
the Gloucester. N. J., track, then in its infancy. There 
he had virtually the entire management of the enterprise, 
and proved himself not only an efficient starter, but a 
practical handicapper and a satisfactory all-around racing 
official. Remaining at Gloucester until 1893. he resigned 
his position for the more important one of starter on the 



Western circuit, and officiated in that capacity at all the 
leading tracks in the West and South. He was then 
appointed starter for the courses under jurisdiction of 
The Jockey Club and officiated until the close of the 
season of 1897. 

Few men have been better known in this generation 
in connection with betting at the races than Mr. Isaac S. 
Thompson. He was born in Liverpool. England, but 
was bi'ought to this country in infancy, and was reared 
and educated on the Pacific Coast. He was twenty-four 
years of age when he made his first appearance at the 
race tracks as a layer of odds. Since that time he has 
been continually a bookmaker, confining his operations 
principally to the Eastein tracks. During his active 
career vast sums of money have passed through his 
hands, and he has made and lost fortunes. He has been 
one of the heaviest layers known to the turf in this gen- 
eration, and has taken many large wagers at startling 
odds. He tells of one instance where he bet §1,000 to 
$1 against Dahlman at the old Guttenberg track, and has 
always congratulated himself that he succeeded in win- 
ning the dollar. 

The apprenticeship of Mr. Joseph F. Ullman in turf 
matters dates back to 1878, when he made his d^but as 
a clerk of the betting ring at the Memphis Course. After 
some years of experience in a subordinate capacity he 
undertook the management of the East St. Louis Track 
in 1883. and accumulated a small capital there. He was 
then invited to take charge of the foreign book at Haw- 
thorne Park, Chicago, and began business on a 
large scale. Gradually he rose to a position of promi- 
nence in the profession to which he was devoting him- 
self, and became conspicuously identified with the bet- 
ting in connection with many of the most important 
tracks in the country. He has had the betting privileges 
at Memphis, Little Rock, St. Louis and elsewhere, and 
has also been for many years a conspicuous figure at all 
the great Eastern race tracks, where he has played a 
prominent part in the betting. 

Born in New York in 1848. Mr. William Kane began 
his racing experiences about i860, at the old Long Island 
Fashion Course. He was employed as exercise boy in 
the stable of Mr. John Hunter, and afterward rode for 
Messrs. James Watson, M. H. Sanford and others. Sub- 
sequently he had an experience, training and riding in 
Lima, Peru. He trained the first lot of yearlings that 
Mr. Pierre Lorillard owned, trained a year for Governor 
Bowie, of Maryland, and also had charge of the Califor- 
nia Stock Farm of Mr. Theodore Winters. In 1880, he 
went to England with the stable of Mr. James R. Keene. 
For one season he officiated as starter at the Guttenberg 
track. He was afterward associated with Mr. H. C. Dit- 
mas in sending descriptions of turf events to the turf 
exchanges throughout the country. 



448 



RACING ASSOCIATIONS 

AND 

FAMOUS RACE COURSES. 



RACING ASSOCIATIONS AND FAMOUS RACE COURSES 

Thh Racing Centrfs in Coi.oniai, Days — Early Tracks in Vik<;inia, South Carolina, Kentucky and 
Louisiana — Old Race Courses near New York — ^^Ierome Park and 
Other Contemporaneous Courses 




S we have alread\- many times pointed out in success that continued even down to the breaking out of 



these pages, race courses were established in 
various parts of the United States during the 
closing years of the last century. Virginia. 
South Carolina and New York had then long 
enjo\ed the advantages to be derived from formal lacing 
arranged under the auspices of turf associations and 
engaged in upon courses regularly laid out. When the 
nineteenth century opened several courses were in exist- 
ence in Virginia. One of the oldest of these was the 
Newmarket at Petersburg, Va.. which was established 
before the Revolution, and maintained its standing and 
popularity for several successive generations. It was 
laid out in its complete style previous to the year 1800. 
but the jockey club that ultimately undertook its manage- 
ment was not organized until 180;. 

The record of one of the earliest meetings upon this 
course possesses something more than passing historical 
interest. It inti'oduces us to the names of several of the 
prominent owners and hoises who were leaders in Vir- 
ginia turf affairs at that time. The repoit shows that for 
a race of four-mile heats in tiie spring of 1802, there 



the Civil War, a period of almost three-quarters of a 
century. From the beginning this club was one of the 
strongest organizations, both socially and tinanciallv. 
that ever existed in the South devoted to the conserva- 
tion of turf interests. Its origin.il pi'oprietors were 
General C. C. Pinckney, General William Washington, 
General Wade Hampton. General M'Pherson, Colonel 
Mitchell. Colonel M'Pherson. Colonel Morris. Captain 
White. General Reed, and Messrs. O'Brien Smith. John 
Wilson, James Ladson. William Alston, H. M. Rutledge, 
Gabriel Manigault. James Burn, L. Campbell. William 
Moultrie. E. Fenwick and William McLeod. 

Colonel Washington gave to the club the land upon 
which the course was laid out. upon condition that it 
should receive the name of Washington in honor of his 
illustrious uncle, the Father of his Country. The club 
succeeded to the tradition and the patronage of the old 
Newmarket Course that had been closed in i7C)i, after 
thirty-one years of existence, and was not long in be- 
coming the great social centre of Charleston. In its 
membership were comprised representatives of all the 



were entered Dr. Parteur's Snapdragon by Callator: old aristocratic families of the city and even of the State, 



Belletield Stark's Bucephalus by Daredevil : John 
Hoome's imported Moll in the Wad: Milo Selden's 
Proserpine by Daredevil: Thomas Gray's Vulture by 
Daredevil: A. T. Dixon's Thunderclap by Wildair. and 
Mr. Swan's Cygnet. It will be noted that four of these 
horses were the get of Daredevil, who was one of the 
famous stallions of Virginia a century ago. Records of 
the time in which this race was run are lacking, but 



and it became the exponent of fashion quite as much as 
it was the guardian and supporter of the turf. To an 
extent, which it is difficult to understand in these days 
of multifarious public interests, society then attached 
itself to the turf, and the racing meetings of the year 
were really the great fashionable functions. For many 
years only a single week was annually set apart for the 
meeting, but this was looked forward to throughout 



Snapdragon won the second and third heats and the several months preceding it as the one occasion that 

race, while Bucephalus was second, having carried off commanded the attention of the entire community, not 

the first heat. Proserpine. Vulture and Thunderclap alone of Charleston, but even of South Carolina, 

were distanced in the third heat, and Moll in the Wad in Indeed, the fame of this annual meeting extended 

the second heat, while Cygnet was sold before starting throughout the South and not infrequently attracted the 



and withdrawn. 

Even before the century began, the celebrated Wash- 
ington Course in Charleston, S. C. was opened. This 
was practically a successor to the Newmarket (bourse, 
that had been in existence in that city from about fifteen 
years or so previous to the beginning of the Revolution- 
ary Wai'. The South (Carolina Jockey Club, that con- 
trolled the Washington Course, was organized in 1702. 
and entered upon a career of brilliant and uninteirLipted 



attention of public men and society people from the far 
distant Noith. The first week in February was given 
over to this meeting, and the opening was always on 
Wednesday. The annual dinner of the Jockey Club 
occurred on this opening day and attracted horsemen, 
statesmen and the gentry from all parts of the State. It 
was a convivial occasion, well calculated to put every- 
body in good-humor for the sport. Leading turfmen 
from all over the SoLith were broLight together aiound 



-151 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



the festal board, and many were the battles good- 
naturedly fought concerning the relative merits of differ- 
ent families of thoroughbreds. When the racing was in 
full force came the great Jockey Club ball on Friday even- 
ing following the opening of the meeting. This event 
shared in importance even the performances on the track. 
Elaborate and extensive preparations were made for it, 
and it occupied tlrst position as the great social event of 
the year in Charleston. 

Not long after the establishment of the Washington 
Course in Charleston and about the same time that 
courses were established in Petersburg. Richmond and 
other cities of Virginia and Maryland, a race course was 
laid out in the City of Washington. In point of fact, 



with that of Charleston. Its meetings called out the 
attendance of those prominent in wealth and fashion and 
in the public and professional life of the capital, all vying 
with each other in the enthusiasm with which they fol- 
lowed the races. From time to time the most celebrated 
horses of the first half century of the Republic were seen 
there, Eclipse, Fashion, Revenue, Sir Henry, Sir Charles, 
Sir Archy. Boston. Timoleon, Lexington, Oscar, Hickory, 
Blue Dick and hundreds of others. The dinners and 
balls of the jockey Club were included among the most 
important social events of the fashionable season in the 
Federal city. 

For neaily half a centurv the brilliant career of this 
coLirse at Washington continued without intei'ruption. 





IJ 



'frrm 







MORRIS PARK 



THE CLUB HOUSE 



this course was almost as old as the Federal City itself, 
having been planned in 1802, during the administration 
of President Thomas Jefferson, it was located on the 
Holmead Farm, about two miles north of the White 
House. The Jockey Club which controlled this course 
became one of the most efficient and most distinguished 
in the United States. For many years it was pi'esided 
ovei' by Colonel John Tayloe, and among its members 
were included many of the most distinguished citizens 
of the capital, and, naturally, leading repi'esentatives of 
all sections of the country. The patronage of the 
National Course, as it was called, vied in character even 



It was not until about the time of the Mexican War. or, 
to be more pi'ecise, soon after 1S44, that the sun of pros- 
perity that had hitherto continuously shone upon its 
affairs began to set. Governor Samuel Sprigg, of Mary- 
land, was then the President of the club, and it was for 
two years or more during his administration that it con- 
tinued in a very uncertain condition. Finally, in 1846, 
even those who had been most devoted to the turf affairs 
of the capital began to recognize the futility of further 
efforts to maintain public interest in it. Accordingly the 
Jockey Club was disbanded, and racing on the historic 
course was altogether abandoned. The political animos- 



452 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ties of that period, culminatina; in the Civil War some 
fifteen yeais later, were largely I'esponsible for a condi- 
tion of affairs that prevented, for the time being, any 
revival of the old-time interest in racing. Men who 
were daily wrought up over the great questions of slav- 
ery, State rights and other transcendent political issues 
of the day, had little interest for the turf or other sports, 
and could scarcely be expected to meet each other with 
equanimity upon any common platform amid the stirring 
issues of the hour. So racing died out entirely in the 
Federal capital. 

After the close of the Civil War attempts were several 
times made again to engage public attention to the sport, 
and projects were put forth looking to the opening of a 



its really first great meeting for nearly, if not quite, half 
a century. 

Those who were most active in the management of 
this club at that time were Messrs. j. C. McKibben, John 
S. Barbour, George W. Hooker, H. W. Blunt, Hallet 
Kilbourn, O. P. Green. H. I). Mclntyre and Colonel 
Charles Stone. They were able to secure the attendance 
of such stables as those of the Messrs. Lorillard. Dwyer. 
Cassatt, Gebhard and others, and inaugurated a really 
interesting racing season. In the present the annual 
meetings at Bennings. although important, especially as 
practically opening the Eastern racing season and attract- 
ing general attention, have not attained to the brilliancy 
that characterized their predecessors. 




MORHI? PARK 



ENTRANCE HALL, THE CLUB HOUSE 



new course at the capital by those who had not yet for- 
gotten the attractions of the past. When the National 
Fair Association was organized great hopes were enter- 
tained concerning the future of racing that it was pro- 
posed to inaugurate under that management. The asso- 
ciation, however, failed to come up to public expecta- 
tion, and soon passed out of existence without having 
made any definite impression upon turf affairs. This 
organization was succeeded by the National Jockey Club, 
which came into existence in the early eighties, and in 
1883, under the auspices of this club, Washington had 



The race courses that continued longest in existence 
were the three that have just been mentioned at Peters- 
burg, Va. ; Charleston, S. C, and Washington, D. C. 
The Metairie, in New Orleans, was also a course that 
had pre-eminent standing in the early part of the cen- 
tury. It held its position unchallenged for nearly fifty 
years quite down to the outbreak of the Civil War. The 
Jockey Club that controlled the course ofTered good purses 
and arranged races that attracted the best thoroughbreds 
of the time, such as Lexington, Lecomte, Hampton. 
Peytona. Fanny King. Charmer. Oliver and numerous 



453 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



others. Upon many an occasion the foni-milc dav 
would bring several of tiie great ciiampions togetiier. 
wlien tiiey would roll off heat after heat in from 7.1s to 
'].4b. with every horse well up at the finish. Some of 
the most sensational racing events ever run in the United 
States took place over this course, and accounts of sev- 
eral of them are given in our chapter on Famous Racing 
Events. In iS^h. the Jockev Club expired by limitation, 
but immediately thereafter another association arose as 
its successor and started in to restore to the old course 
some of the transcendent glories of former days. Among 
the veteran turfmen who were particularly interested in 
this rejuvenation were Governor Hebert. Judge Cox. 



some very good racing there, and their spring meetings 
opened the season, which was afterward followed 
by the meetings of the Chickasaw Club at Memphis, the 
Nashville Jockey Club and then by the Maryland Jockey 
Club and other courses of the North. On the Metairie 
Course in those days were seen such good race horses as 
Foster. Morgan Scout. Regent, Bonita. Salina, Nellie 
Ransom, Monarchist, Wanderer and others. In 1872, 
the Louisiana Jockey Club succeeded the Metairie Jockey 
Club in the management of affairs, and racing under its 
direction continued to be popular and successful. There 
was a time, for a few years, when winter racing was in 
vogue in the 'North, that the Metairie Course suffered 




MORRIS PARK 



LADIES' PARLOR, THE CLUB HOUSE 



Captain Minor, General Wells, 1). F. Kenner, William 
B. Stark and others. This movement, piomising as it 
was to the future of the turf in the Southwest, was of 
little avail. The tide of Civil War was setting in too 
strongly, and after a few years of futile effort racing 
matters in New Orleans were for a time relegated to the 
background, as they were elsev/here in the country. 

At a later date, in the sixties and seventies, interest in 
the Metairie Course was revived in the growing public 
favor that was again being accorded to racing in all parts 
of the country in the post-bellum period. The Metairie 
Jockey Club, which had charge of this course, managed 



something of a setback. But after Northern winter rac- 
ing was abandoned and the turf generally returned to its 
normal condition, the old course renewed its former 
popularity, and under new management became again 
one of the important racing centres of the counti'y. 

In the South no race course has ever existed that has 
had a longer or more honorable career than that of Lex- 
ington. Ky. Many circumstances have operated to make 
its well-established pre-eminence historical. Much of 
the supreme success which has attached to its career 
has unL]uestionablv been due to its favorable location in 
the blue glass region, where racing and the breeding of 



454 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



thi' thoioLiiilibied Iimvl' bei-n tlie cngiossing occLipalioii 
of the people ever since the section passed out of its 
wilderness state. The association that controlled the 
Lexington Course foi' several generations was chartered 
in 1828. but the history of the course can be fairly con- 
sidered as long antedating even that time. The Lex- 
ington Jockey Club, the oldest active organization of the 
kind in the United States, was founded as far back as 
170=.. only a year after Mad Anthonv Wayne had broken 
the power of the Indian tribes on the Mauniee Rivei'. 
From early in the century down to the breaking out of 
the Civil War. two and sometimes three meetings were 
held every year, and were uniformly successful from 



the war was in progress and all otliei' courses, of 
both the North and the South, were deserted, the inher- 
ent racing passion of the Kentuckians could not be 
dampened, and they continued their attention to the turf 
even with war's dread alarms ringing in their ears. 
Only in \Sb2. did they limit themselves to one annual 
meeting, that which was held in the spring. In the 
autLimn of that yeai' circumstances quite beyond their 
control compelled them to relinquish their plans for a fall 
meeting, since General Kirby Smith with a Federal army 
was encamped upon their grounds. This record is the 
more remarkable when we consider that. Kentucky, being 
a'boidei' State, was exposed to the special''disturbance 




DINING ROOM, THE CLUB HOUSE 



MORflrS PARK 



every point of view, commanding the attention of the 
leading turfmen of the country and enlisting the services 
of the great race horses of every period. One thing in 
particular has distinguished this course from all others 
throughout its whole career. In this respect it is unique, 
in that it has been the field, until comparatively recent 
years at least, whereon most of the colts destined to 
become the great champions made their first appearance. 
The Lexington Course has also the enviable distinction 
of being the only place in the United States where racing 
was continued, practically without interruption, through- 
out the dark and tragic days of the Civil War. While 



of being overrun by the armies of both contending pow- 
ers. Sometimes the Confederates held the City of Lex- 
ington, and again the Union forces were in control. 
Nevertheless, the racing association was true to its 
instincts and unswerving in its determination to main- 
tain an unbroken record of meetings, no heed which 
army might be in the ascendanc\ or what might be the 
ultimate result of the sanguinary struggle that was 
going on. 

Although two race courses, as we have elsewhere 
seen, early existed on Long Island, in the vicinity of 
New York, one called the Newmarket, near the centre 



4,S5 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



of Suffolk County, and the other near Jamaica, in King's 
County, the really great historic courses near the met- 
ropolis were not instituted until well into the present 
century. In the increasing interest in blood horses 
that marked the beginning of our national existence, the 
North bore its full share, especially after the present 
century had opened. Meantime, the old Newmarket 
Course and the Beaver Pond Course, at Jamaica, had 
passed out of existence and were well-nigh forgotten. 
As early as 1800, however, there were courses at Albany, 
Poughkeepsie and Harlem, and races ranging from one 
to four-mile heats were run, some very good sport being 
put up. Until 1804, so far as the recollection of old turf- 



carry on the enterprise as it had been conducted up to 
that time. An insuperable difficulty in their way also 
arose from the fact that it was almost impossible to 
enforce regulations for racing on an uninclosed course, 
as had hitherto been attempted. Accordingly, they 
reorganized the society and established an inclosed 
course, located about a mile from that which they had 
previously controlled, and gave it the same name. 
Under these auspices racing continued with varying suc- 
cess for the ensuing decade or more, and was fairly well 
supported by the public-spirited and sport-loving citizens 
of the metropolis. Some of those horses who. in them- 
selves and their families, have been among the most dis- 




SMOKING ROOM, THE CLUB HOUSE 



MORRIS PARK 



men of previous generations went, there was no regu- 
larly organized jockey club in New York City. In that 
year an association, whose members were principally 
drawn from the faiming population of Long Island, was 
organized with the definite plan of continuing in exist- 
ence for five -years. The old Newmarket Course was 
secured and remodeled, and two meetings a year, in 
May and October, were arranged for. Purses were 
offered for four, three and two-mile heats, and the best 
racers of the period were there seen. 

When this association had expired by limitation the 
members found it difficult to raise sufficient funds to 



tinguished in the coLintrv, were fii'st entei'ed on these 
courses. Among them were Tippoo Sultan, Hamble- 
tonian. Bright Phoebus, Miller's Damsel, Empress, First 
Consul, Cock of the Rock. Eclipse and other noted ones. 
Among the turfmen who were regularly seen at New- 
market, both in its earlier and its later period, the Messrs. 
Bond and Hughes, of Philadelphia, were particularly 
conspicuous. 

Nor was Newmarket the only course that was open to 
lovers of the turf in the vicinity of New York. At Har- 
lem a course was kept up for many years during this 
period, and one also existed at Powle's Hook, in New 



456 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Jersey. However, it was not until i8u)that the citizens 
of New York began to manifest a full appreciation of the 
sport. Legislation against racing, which had hitherto 
been of a burdensome character, was at last modified, 
and active steps were taken to place turf afTairs on a 
permanent basis. In that year a jockey club was formed 
and a track laid out at Bath, L. I., thus prefiguring the 
location of the famous Coney Island ar.d Gravesend 
tracks of this generation. The club proved to be a suc- 
cessful institution, and very good races were run for 
two seasons. 

It was found, however, that the location of the course 
was not altogether satisfactory on account of its inaccess- 



Course events were largely increased, and I'acing was 
placed on a more elevated and permanent footing than 
before. 

In 1828, a racing association was oiganized in Dutcliess 
County, New York, and a course laid out near Pough- 
keepsie. Liberal purses were offered, and for several 
years there was well conducted and good racing, this 
course being the scene of some of the best performances 
of Mr, John C. Stevens' Black Maria and other horses of 
her class. Ten years later the Beacon Course at Hoboken, 
N. J., was established, and grounds laid out and build- 
ings erected at great cost. Large purses were given, 
and for a few years this course was very popular, inas- 




SLEEPING APARTMENT, THE CLUB HOUSE 



MORRIS PARK 



ibility, for we must remember that the means of travel 
in those days were not what they are now. A location 
nearer the city was accordingly deemed essential, and in 
1 82 1, the club purchased a plot of ground some eight 
miles from Brooklyn, inclosed it, and laid out a track. 
This was the beginning of the celebrated Union Course, 
that for nearly fifty years remained one of the most 
famous centres of turf interest in America. In fact, it 
became the chosen battle ground for the greatest con- 
tests between horses that the earlier history of the turf 
in this country can show. Under the enterprising man- 
agement of the Jockey Club, the purses for the Union 



much as it presented some of the leading attractions of 
that period. Trenton, N. J,, also had a course in these 
early days under the name of the Eagle Course, and its 
purses insured some good racing. Ultimately, however, 
all these courses were abandoned, until in the period 
just preceding the Civil War none of them were in exist- 
ence, except the old Union Course, and that had been 
largely given over to the trotting horse. 

For many years previous to the time when discredit 
attended the decline of racing in the North, the celebrated 
Fashion Course on Long Island was one of the most 
popular racing resorts in the country. The course was 



457 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



laid out upon a iiiagnificfnt scale for tliose times, and 
tile enteiprise was conducted in a generous and sports- 
manlike manner. Thousands of dollars were expended 
upon the course, and its original cost was said to have 
been not less than live or six times more than had been 
the cost of any other course in the country. The head- 
quarters of the club were on one of the tlnest old ances- 
tral estates that could be anywhere found in the vicinity 
of New York, and on this was a commodious clubhouse 
and mansion, with a most attractive, aristocratic air. 
Special attention was given by the club management to 
accommodate ladies, whose attendance at the meetings 
was very much desired: in this I'espect it was declared 



Course, and subsequently the Fashion Course, had passed 
out of existence, a new jockey club was organized in 
New York in iSsy, at a time when many people looked 
forward with confident expectation to a gratifying 
change in the condition of turf affairs as they then 
existed. The officers of this ckib were: President, 
Robert B. Morris: Vice-Presidents. Anson Livingston, 
Francis Morris. William H. Gibbons and Henry Lloyd; 
Secretary, Lovell Purdy; Treasurer. William B. Duncan; 
Membership Committee. Edward Peaisall. Henry A. 
Coster. Robert G. Remsen ,ind Jotham Post, all of them 
well known as staunch suppoi'ters of the tuif and gen- 
tlemen of the highest social character. The club enlisted 




MORRIS PARK 



THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RESIDENCE 



that the club vied in distinction even with the old South 
Carolina Jockey Club at Charleston, and as a social resort 
came to have almost a world-wide reputation. The 
Fashion Jockey Club offered generous purses, and stables 
from Maryland. Virginia. Kentucky, Tennessee and else- 
where throughout the South and West were always 
represented at its meetings. Messrs. Francis Morris, 
John Hunter, Charles R. Coster, William H. Gibbons. 
N. B. Young and others not less prominent in the turf 
world then were always to be found at this course. 
After the jockey clubs that had controlled the Union 



the patronage of other gentlemen of social distinction, 
and upon their support was based the confident expecta- 
tion that New York might again see an era of whole- 
some, honest racing such as had distinguished the neigh- 
borhood of the metropolis in pievious generations. 
What might have been the outcome of this new 
movement had not the Civil War intervened to destroy 
all calculations, it is not possible now to say. it may 
be, however, that in this club organization were the 
germs of the healthy revival of interest in racing that 
was destined to come to full fruit when the American 



45« 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Jockey (-lub and the Jeinme I'aik (".(niise blossomed into 
existence a decade later. 

Westchester (bounty. New York, lias for more than 
one hundred years, without a break, been a racing centre 
for the North, its proximity to the great metropolis, its 
fine grass lands and the fact that it has always been the 
home of many wealthy New York families who have 
maintained country-seats there, liaye been prime contrib- 
uting causes to its identification with turf affairs. The 
names of Morris. Bathgate, Hunter, Jerome and others 
hold important places in its racing and breeding annais. 
and not a few of the great Ameiican thoroughbieds in 



those of Mr. I'lancis Moriis. Mr. John Ikintei' and the 
Bathgates in two generations. 

Imported Barefoot, who won the Doncaster St. Leger 
in 182^. came to this country some six or seven years 
aftei' and stood in the vicinity of Westchester village. 
In a stud at West Farms about the same time was Amer- 
ican Eclipse, and in the same place in 1847. imported 
Trustee, the sire of the great brood mare Levity, went 
the tinal way of all horses, good or bad. Impoited 
Leamington and Censor had their homes with Mr. John 
Hunter at his Pelham Farm, while for thirteen years. 
from 18(10 to 187^, impoi'ted Hclipse stood in Mi'. Francis 




:^ 



-;.',*»^ 





IN THE LANE 



MORRIS PARK 



times past have had their homes there. Back in Revolu- 
tionary times racing was conducted there upon a broad 
meadow near Eastchester Church that was called the race 
field, and thithei' the gentlemen in that part of the coun- 
try brought their horses for friendly rivalry and gratified 
their inherited English tastes, it was not long after the 
general interest in racing began in the early years of the 
century that Northern breeders fixed upon Westchester 
County as a very desirable location and as affording 
many advantages for the development of the thorough- 
bred. Several stud farms were established, particularly 



Morris' stud at Throgg's Neck. These are only a few 
names of the thoroughbreds who have been identified 
with Westchester County. For a long time, fifty years 
or more ago. a straight mile of roadway in Fordham was 
used for a race course, and afterward the Bathgate track 
at Morrisania afforded opportunities for speed. This, in 
turn, was succeeded by the famous Jerome Park, and 
when that had passed away the splendid Moriis Park 
entered upon the field thus vacated. 

Saratoga was the first locality in the North to under- 
take racing after the Civil War. In fact, the sport was 



459 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



inaugui'ated there befoi'e the war had ended. The credit 
that has been given to that fashionable summer resort as 
the cradle of modern racing in the East, is fully merited. 
Previous to the inauguration of the sport there the out- 
look for the immediate future was poor indeed, for there 
seemed slight prospect of returning to the whilom con- 
dition of affairs existing before the war. The wealth 
and the leisure that had hitherto made the South invin- 
cible in pursuit of sports had for the time departed. It 
then devolved upon the North to support racing, and 
particularly New York, wherein the wealth of the coun- 
try had become so considerably concentrated and where 
a large population had grown up and could be depended 



ing matters during the ensuing c]uarter of a century and 
more, was inaugurated in 1861. The general response 
of turfmen from all over the country to this venture and 
the patronage of the public was even more gratifying 
than those who were most active in the affair had antici- 
pated, and the inaugural meeting was altogether success- 
ful. .At the outset the stables gathered at Saratoga were 
few in number when compared with the present day, 
and the horses were not numerous. At the first meeting 
in iSt)^. the piincipal entries were Captain Moore's 
Mamona. Mr. D. E. Weldon's Sympathy and Lizzie W., 
Mr. Reedy's ThLinder. Mr. Francis Morris' Dangerous 
and Surprise, Mr. j. S. Watson's Aldebaran. Mr. John 




MORRIS PARK 



THE CLUB STABLES 



upon to give its practical support to the sport. Saratoga. M. Clay's Lodi and Mr. Lloyd's Echo. This first Sara- 
being the summer capital of New York, and having for toga racing meeting was undertaken entirely upon the 
years drawn to it the patronage of wealthy and fashion- responsibility of John Morrissey, and Charles Wheatly. 



able folk from all parts of the country, the opportunity 
thus offered to establish racing among the pines as a 
fashionable divertisement seemed to be almost provi- 
dential. 

There was an old race track in Saratoga, iqb yards 
short of a mile, that had been used in a desultory sort of 
a way, and with that as a foundation the new enterprise, 
that was destined to play such an important part in rac- 



the eminent tLirfman. was engaged to act as Secretary 
and manager. 

Immediately after the close of the meeting several gen- 
tlemen of means formed an association for the purpose 
of establishing racing in Saratoga upon substantial and 
permanent foundation. Mr. 'William R. Travers was 
elected President: Mr. John H. 'White, Treasurer, and 
Mr. Charles Wheatly, Secretary. Of these three officials 



460 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



only Mr. Wht';itly now survives. The Hxecutive Com- 
mittee of tile new association bouglit suitable land on 
tile southerly side of Union Avenue, and delegated to its 
secretary authority to construct the race course. Within 
a year this course was completed, to the entire satisfac- 
tion of the association, and was ready for use at the 
opening of the meeting in the summer of 1864. 

For at least twenty years the Saratoga Course contin- 
ued on an e.xtraordinary career of almost uninterrupted 
prosperity. The modest three days' meetings of i.Sb^ 
and 1864 rapidly grew in proportions, until in 1870. the 
racing season had expanded so as to include two meet- 
ings every summer. Not long afterward it developed 



the strong and widespiead influence of .Saratoga upon 
racing affairs throughout the country. In the seventies 
Saratoga was patronized by such eminent turfmen as 
IVlessrs. August Belmont, 1). 1). Withers, Leonard 
Jerome. John F. Purdy, Oden Bowie, Charles W. Bath- 
gate, Joiin Hunter, W. R. Travers, H. P. McGrath, 
Pierre Lorillard. John T. Hoffman. Harry Genet. J. G. 
K. Lawrence. M. A. Littell. O. M. Bassett, H. Harding. 
William TurnbuU. James McGowan and others. At the 
track were the stables, year aftei' year, of owners of 
national reputation, such as Major Bacon, Captain T. G. 
Moore, Colonel 1). McDaniel. and Messrs. 1). J. CroLise, 
R. Wyndham Walden, John Harper, David McCoun, 




MORRIS TARK 



EXTERIOR OF A RACING STABLE 



Still further, such was the demand of the patronizing 
public and the enthusiastic rivalry between all the repre- 
sentative stables of the North and South. Finally a 
season of seven weeks' sport became one of the features 
of every summer, and the prosperity that attended this 
protracted gathering of sportsmen fully demonstrated 
the high standing to which Saratoga had attained as one 
of the most prosperous and most intluential racing 
centres that had up to that time been established any- 
where in the United States. 

Another thing was soon clearly shown, and that was 

461 



lames Thompson, Woodford Springfield, Fphraim 
Snedeker, W. R. Babcock, M, H. Sanford. George L. 
Lorillard, Pierre Lorillard, John O'Donnell, Francis Morris, 
and many others. 

In the course of time changes in the ownership and 
management of the Saratoga Course came about. In the 
later seventies the course, with all its privileges, was 
leased to John Morrissey, with (Charles Reed and Albert 
Spencer as his partners. No changes were made in the 
racing, which still continued under the control and 
authority of the Saratoga Association. Upon the death 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



of Mr. Travel's, Mr. James M. Marvin sLicceeded to tlie 
Presidencv. After the death of Mr. Morrissey. in 1880. 
Messrs. Reed & Spencer became tiie lessees of tlie prop- 
erty, and continued the business until tb.e sale of the 
course, which took place early in i8q2. Mr. Wheatly 
lemained Secretary of the association through all these 
years, only I'esigning his office in i8c)2. when the old 
association closed out its affairs and was succeeded by 
that which is now in existence. 

Eaily in the eighties the coui'se fell away somewhat 
from its former high estate, and its period of decadence 
lasted for some considei'able length of time. The high 



increased the supply beyond its powei' to care for them 
unassisted. Other outlets were needed to make racing 
profitable to breeders and owners, and also to meet the 
growing interest of the public. Especially was this 
true of New York City and vicinity. Thousands there, 
who did not always find it practicable or desirable to go 
to Saratoga to follow the races, joined in the demand for 
courses nearer home. Something of this feeling, as well 
as the desire for social prominence, moved the projectors 
of the famous American Jockey Club in their building of 
the I erome Park Course a few years after Saratoga had 
been started. Similar reasons, with perhaps less of the 




MORRIS PARK 



A RACING STABLE INTERIOR 



degree of prosperity that had attended its earlier years 
had much to do with bringing about this result. Largely 
affected by the intluence that went out from this famous 
summer resort, and moved also by a consideration of the 
success that had elevated Saratoga financially and socially, 
as well as from a sporting point of view, followers of 
the tuif elsewhere naturally saw no reason why they 
should not establish other courses that might rival this 
parent of modern racing in tlu- Noith. Another factor 
also entered largely into the problem. The demand that 
Saratoga had made for racers of the first class had rapidly 



social side brought into prominence, led to the establish- 
ment of the courses at Monmouth Park. Brighton Beach 
and Sheepshead Bay. 

Some dissatisfaction with the management of the 
Saratoga Course began to be felt, and. for a time, prin- 
cipally perhaps on account of the undue prominence of 
the purely gambling element there, the course was some- 
what under a cloud. With the establisliment of Mon- 
mouth Park and its subsequent purchase by some of the 
leading racing men of the East, several of the great 
stables upon which Saratoga had depended, the Ran- 



462 



THE AMERICAN TURE 



cocas. Westbiooke, Brookdalc and (^hesteibrook. were 
withdrawn. This reverse was but temporary, howevei'. 
The Brooklyn and the Preakness Stables still continued 
to pationize Saratoga. Mi'. Aristides Welch's Erdenheim 
Stable also came to the fioiit. while numei'ous stables of 
the West and South added their forces. Saratoga soon 
stalled on a career of renewed prosperity, in which it 
has continued evei' since, with only such incidental 
reverses as seem to be inseparable fiom the liislorv of 
all great race courses. 

For the season of iSijS the ofticei's of the Sai'atoga Asso- 
ciation v/ere: Edward Kearney. President: John T. Fagaii. 
Tieasurer. and B. A. Chilton, Secretaiv. Joseph J. 
Burke was the Judge. M. N. Nolan. Steward, and Matthew 



The emphatic success that attended the Saratoga meet- 
ings in 18(14 and iNO^ was the direct incentive to the 
organization of the American Jockey Club and the estab- 
lishment of Jerome Park. Mi\ Leonard W. Jerome, the 
moving spirit in the new enteiprise. engaged Mr. Charles 
Wheatly to lav out the place at a cost of probably not 
far from half a million dollars. The course, one long 
stretch and thiee curves, was laid out according to the 
personal plans of Mr. Jerome, and the club buildings 
were also his creation. The entiie establishment was 
completed at Mr. Jerome's pei'sonal expense, he being 
the sole proprietor, but the control of racing affairs was 
delegated to the American Jockey Club. Ultimately Mr. 
Jerome sold the property to a number of gentlemen, who 




THE PADDOCK 



Byrnes offTci'ated as Starter. The course is one of the 
most picturesque in its surroundings of any in the coun- 
try. It is beautifully laid out. and all its appointments 
are in perfect style. The season extends from late in 
July until the first of September. Some of the most his- 
toric events in American racing annals have been con- 
nected with Saratoga. Those that are most prominent 
in recent times are the Flash, the Travers, the Flirtation, 
the Alabama, the Congress Hall, the Citizens', the Ken- 
nei- and the Kearney Stakes, the Hunter Steeplechase, 
the Spencer Handicap, the Beverwyck Steeplechase, the 
Midsummei' Handicap and the Sai'atoga Green Steeple- 
chase. 



constituted the Jerome Park Villa Site and improvement 
Company, of which Mr. Francis Skiddy was the Presi- 
dent. The new company, howevei'. only took the place 
of Mr. Jerome, and the racing was continued under the 
authority of the American Jockey Club. 

Probably no race course in the coLintry ever had wider 
renown or a more brilliant career than the famous Jerome 
Park, in the later sixties it was the most notable resort 
in this coLintrv not only from the standpoint of racing, 
but socially as well. The glories of Jerome Park in the 
time when it was famous, wherever gentlemen sports- 
men gathered to enjoy this '■ sport of kings." still linger 
fondly in the memory of many whu participated in the 

463 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



events of those grand old days. Sport for sport's sake 
was the motto then, and the honor of the track was the 
honor of the men who controlled it. Here was the 
recreation place, the prime interest in life, of such men 
as the elder James Gordon Bennett, Commodore Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt, Commodore Cornelius K. Garrison, 
Judge A. C. Monson, Senator Thomas Bayard, Mr. Rich- 
ard O'Gorman, Mr. Hosea B. Perkins and scores of others 
of wealth, refinement and position. There August Bel- 
mont pitted his horses against those of his friends. 
Messrs. Leonard W. and Lawrence Jerome: there Will- 
iam R. Travers loosed the shafts of his wit, and there 
Judges Barnard and Donohue came daily through the 



of comparison with it existed anywhere in the country- 
There was plenty of money back of the club, and under 
the leadership of such men as Messrs. Leonard W. 
Jerome, William R. Travers, August Belmont, C. H. 
Bathgate, Francis Morris and others it soon became the 
racing centre of the country. Its meetings may fairly 
be said to have served as the foundation for the racing 
taste of the present generation. The first meeting in 
September, iSbO. was a remarkable occasion. It at- 
tracted the attention of the best people of New York and 
vicinity, and many were the encomiums bestowed upon 
the members of the club for the skill with which they 
had undertaken the new enterprise. The appointments 




A QUIET PART OF THE PADDOCK 

racing season to match their judgment of horseflesh or of the course, although they would suffer somewhat 
their skill and luck in poker or whist against James T. from a comparison with the superb arrangements of 
Brady. Charles O'Connor, Cortlandt Morris and others of some of the later tracks, called out the warmest com- 
that class of sportsmen. If the history of that old race mendation. A conservative turf writer of the day thus 
course had ever been set down by those who were most expressed himself concerning the enterprise: •' We 
familiar with it and were active participants in all the life come upon a race course, stands and stables which far 
that centred around it, the record would be one of the exceed any we have hitherto seen in this country, and 
most entertaining and most valuable pages of metropoli- which are not surpassed, we believe, in any other." 
tan experience. Again, in describing the scene on the liist day of the 
When the American Jockey Club was started in r86s, inaugural meeting, he writes: "The place and its beau- 
no important racing organization that was at all worthy tiful buildings and surroundings were tilled with thou- 

464 



THE AMRRICAN TURF 



sands of delighted people, whose admirution of that 
which the club has so speedily effected was intense." 

The lacing attractions of this meeting were quite in 
keeping with the importance of the event. Asteroid 
came fi^om the West to meet his lival. the great Ken- 
tucky. Idlewild. who had been a famous horse, but who 
was now in the decadence of power, was also present. 
Among the two-year olds. Ruthless and Monday, and 
among the thiee-year olds. Watson and Local, were 
especially conspicuous. However, although a new era 
in the history of the American turf had dawned with 
this meeting, the futui'e was by no means fully assured. 
More or less aversion to the turf still continued, and thei'e 



inteiest and t(i bring about their just rewards. Horses 
from all parts of the country came to Jerome Park to 
compete for the stakes offered, the rich purses holding 
out exceptional attraction to them. Many a famous race 
was won and lost on that track in its earlier days, and, 
as well, in latei- times. KentLick\- lan there in his efforts 
to beat the time of Lexington, then king of the turf, and 
just a stride or two short of the wire lost thousands upon 
thousands of New York's money. The National Handi- 
cap, won by such great thoroughbi'eds as Kentucky, 
Local. La Polka. Monarchist. Preakness and Vigil; the 
Hunter Stakes, won by Remor.seless. Woodbine. Madge, 
Olitipa and Sultana; the Nui'sei'v Stakes, that were car- 




MORRIS PARK 



GOING TO THE POST 



was also a large element in the community that looked ried off by such representative thoroughbreds as Ruth- 

with special disfavor upon racing because of its English less. Remorseless. Harry Bassctt. Rutherford. Leonard 

origin. Patriotism engendered by the Civil War. which and imported Patience: the Manhattan Handicap, that 

had just ended, was the cause of much anti-Hnglish feel- fell to Enchantre.ss. R. B. Connolly, Corsican. Fanchon. 

ing. largely, perhaps, on account of the famous Alabama Preakness, Picolo, Virginius and others: the Annual 

question, and this intolerance extended even to matters Sweepstakes, won 'by Nellie McDonald. Kingfisher, 

of racing. Moreover, the effect of the war upon busi- Monarchist. Joe Daniels, Tom Bowling, Tom Ochiltree 



ness and industrial affairs had not entirely passed away, 
and there was much hard work necessary before general 
attention could be attracted to sporting affairs. 

It was not long, however, before the efforts of the 
American Jockey Club began to command respect and 



and Sultana: the Jerome Stakes, which went to Metairie. 
Bayonet. Cdenelg. Kingfisher. Harry Bassett. Joe 
Daniels. Tom Bowling. Acrobat. Aristides and others: 
these, with the Juvenile .Stakes, the Westchester Cup 
and the Fordham Handicap, were among the great fea- 



465 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



tures of the early Jerome l^ark meetings, and tlie old turf- 
men (if the genei'ation that is just passing away look 
back upon the racing connected with them with the 
tenderest memories. 

After a time the scope of the Ameiican Jockey Club 
enlarged more and more, and with its new social 
aspirations it entered upon an even more brilliant 
career than had been anticipated foi' it. Hitherto custom 
had, as a rule, made the attendance of ladies upon racing 
events in the Northern States, in contemporaneous 
times at least, inadvisable. It appeared, however, that 
the time had arrived for a very decided change in this 
respect. The character of the gentlemen who managed 



gatheiing. Fiom that day Jerome Park became christ- 
ened the Mecca of fashion. Foreigners visiting the city 
weie alwavs taken there, as being the place of all places 
where the most desirable people were to be met. In- 
deed, for yeai's the women almost ruled the track, mak- 
ing their influence felt in all its concerns. An English 
nobleman was once boasting of the character of the 
Ascot races in the presence of a member of the Ameri- 
can Jockey Club. The American afterward said that he 
was proud to be able to declare to the Hnglishman, as 
he did: "We have at Jerome Park a race track where 
you could take your tlfteen-year old daughter with never 
a fear that she would see or hear aught to harm her. 1 




THE STARTER'S STAND 



MOHRIS PARK 



the club and the park affairs was a sufficient guarantee, 
and the place became a social centre such as the city 
never had before possessed. Beautiful and brilliant 
women made the clubhouse their other home, thereto 
while away the hours in pleasure.^ Scarcely a family of 



have never seen at that tr.ick a man drunk, or a woman 
disgracing herself. " 

It was this reputation, which it is almost needless to 
say was fully deserved, that established Jerome Park 
tlrmly as a great social as well as racing centre, and 



social importance in New York did not then have its enabled it to hold its position for a quarter of a century. 



affiliations in the racing set, and membership in the club 
was in itself a sign and seal of position. 

The cream of Gotham society honored every racing 
occasion with its presence until the costumes on the 
grand stand outshone in splendor those seen at any other 



Yet betting ran high there, the women often being 
among the most reckless players, in the clubhouse, 
too, theie weie poker and whist for high stakes, and the 
tuin of a card often won and lost sums that would have 
been enoi'mous to any but the men and women who 



466 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



played. As an outgrowth of this club came the Coach- 
ing Club, with the Jeromes, Vanderbilts and Belmonts 
as founders, and the Coaching Club House at Fort Wash- 
ington was the scene of many brilliant festivities of the 
Jerome Park set. Ultimately, however, the old Ameri- 
can Jockey Club spirit began to die out, as the spirit of 
sport for sport's sake gave way to a moie mercenary 
sentiment. Other ckibs sprang up in the vicinity of 
New York, and Jeiome Park ceased to be what it once 
was. Racing was continued on the course, however, 
until into the nineties, and in the early part of this decade 
the Dwyers revived the old American Jockey Club 



character of its patronage other supporters of the turf 
were encouraged to take up the good work thus well 
begun. Saratoga already had a course, and soon the 
Maryland and Monmouth Clubs followed, and afterward 
came the institution of race courses at Coney Island. 
But throughout its earlier career, before it began to 
wane, the American Jockey Club never ceased to stand 
at the head of turf affairs and to lead its competitors. 
The rules which its stewards h:\d foinuilated for the 
government of their course were generally adopted by 
other clubs, either in their entirety or modified as might 
be necessary to meet new conditions. In every measure 















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MORRIS PARK 



THE START 



charter and instituted racing again upon the course for a of turf reform the club took the lead, and its oflicial 

year or two. Finally, however, the city of New York action obtained the recognition of turfmen in every part 

took possession of the park grounds, and constructed of the world. 

a reservoir on the site as part of the city's water- The Maryland Jockey Club had its inception at a din- 
works, ner party at Saratoga in i8t)8. Racing at that famous 
Although the American Jockey Club and the famous watering-place had already attained to such pre-eminence 
park that it controlled have passed out of existence, it is as to attract the attention of lovers of the sport from 
impossible to overlook the important part that they other parts of the country and to stimulate in them a 
played during the years of their existence and the desire to emulate in their own localities the achievements 
weighty influence that they had in shaping the future of of the Saratoga Course. It was naturally to be expected 
the American turf. Through the stimulus of the success that such a feeling should early be developed among 
that Jerome Park early achieved and through the high wealthy Marvlanders. for their .State shared with Virginia 

467 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



and South Carolina ihc honor ol beint^' the birthplace of 
American thoroughbred racing. Those who felt in that 
year of 1868 that it was quite time that Maryland should 
I'eturn again to the support of that spoit which had been 
its former piide and glorv. both as a colony and a State, 
decided, to use theii' own language, " to inaugurate the 
contemplated meeting appointed to take place at Balti- 
more in 1870 by a sweepstakes of such magnitude as 
would command, from its value and the celebrity of the 
colts and fillies that would probably be engaged in it, an 
attention and an interest from the racing public gratify- 
ing to all true friends of the turf in everv section of our 
common country." 



and more valuable character, and became of national 
importance. Twenty-two nominations were added to it 
in the ensuing summer. For the same meeting, which 
was ai'ranged to be held at Pimlico. three additional 
stakes were opened, the Supper Stakes for two-year 
olds, the Breakfast Stakes for four-year olds, two mile 
heats, and the Bowie Stakes for all ages, four-mile heats. 
Discussion was rife during the ensuing two years 
regarding the result of these events, and confidence in 
the favorites shifted from time to time, but when the 
horses came to the post Preakness, who had his gi'eat 
future all before him, carried the dark blue of Mr. M. H. 
Sanford easily to the front for the Dinner Party Stakes, 




«^ 







AROUND THE BACK STRETCH 



MORRIS PARK 



in honor of the occasion and in remembrance of the 
particular festivity out of which this determination had 
grown, the event was called the Dinner Party Stakes, the 
conditions being a sweepstakes foi' colts and fillies then 
thi'ee years old, distance two miles. The subscription 
was limited to the gentlemen who weie piesent, and 
closed with seven subscribers, Messrs. Bowie & Hall, M. 
H. Sanford, D. D. Withers, J. J. O' Fallon, Francis Morris, 
Denison & Crawford and R, W. Cameron. Subse- 
quently, at tlie request of owners from all parts of the 
country, the stake was reopened and made of a broader 



while Harry Bassett won the Supper Stakes and Glenelg 
secured the Breakfast Stakes and also added the Bowie 
Stakes to his prizes. Since 1870. the Pimlico Course has 
been the theatre of many great races. All the noted 
champions of the American turf have been seen in fierce 
struggles upon it, and for many years it was regarded 
as a sort of neutral ground for sectional battles between 
the East and the West. After two or three years the 
name of the Dinnei' Party Stakes was changed to the 
Dixie Stakes, and. as such, it became one of the most 
important and most valuable turf events of its peiiod. 



<i68 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Monmoutli I'aik. laru'elv lifted into prominence by 
defections from S:ii'atog:i, rapidly attained to such suc- 
cess and wielded such an extensive and wholesome 
influence that it was soon denominated the Newmarket 
of America. The gentlemen who managed its affairs 
were the owneis of the greatest Eastern stables, and had 
united themselves in the interests of enterprise and hon- 
esty in racing affairs and in the endeavor to eliminate 
from the race course some of the abuses that had crept 
into it from various sources. The old course at Mon- 
mouth was originally the private enterprise of Mr. John F. 
Chamberlin. but its most successful and notable career 
began when the Monmouth Park Association was organ- 
ized and undertook its management. Mr. 1). I). Withers 



Boudinot Colt. The officers of the association were: 
Mr. George L. Lorillard, President, and Messrs. August 
Belmont, Pierre Lorillard and I). 1). Withers, directors. 

Some of the most impoitant stakes known to the 
American turf were established at Monmouth Park, 
among them being the Hopeful, July. Tyro, Sapling, 
Junior Champion, August and (Jiterion for two-year 
olds; the Lorillard, Monmouth Oaks, Stockton. Stevens, 
Omnibus and West Lnd Hotel for three-year olds, and 
the Comparative and the Home Bred Produce. Mon- 
mouth Park was in every way one of the most success- 
ful courses in the vicinity of New York for many years. 
It was managed on a generous scale and in a thoroughly 
sportsmanlike manner. Its career after Mr. Withers and 




MORRIS PARK 



DOW/N THE TOBOGGAN 



was the prime mover in this new attempt to establish 
racing by the seaside, and his associates were represen- 
tatives of the best elements in and about New York, of 
wealth, influence and conservatism. 

The combination was sufficiently strong to command 
the respect and enlist the co-operation of the leading 
turfmen in the country, and thus it was enabled to offer 
sport of a character that was particularly engaging to the 
public, who attend races simply for the satisfaction of 
being spectators of gamey equine struggles. The first 
meeting at Long Branch was held in July, 1870. The 
stewards on that interesting occasion were General Van 
Vleet and Messrs. John Hoey, Lester Wallack and E. 



his friends had assumed control of it was one of steady 
prosperity, until the unexpected Puritanism of New Jer- 
sey legislation in regard to racing and betting matters 
compelled its gates to be closed. The new track that 
was laid out under the direction of Mr. Withers and the 
splendid new grand stand, clubhouse and other append- 
ages made Monmouth palatial, whether as regards the 
provision for the comfort of its spectators or of its 
equine performers. 

The Monmouth Association never recoveied from the 

setback that it received from the severe Jersey law in 

1800. Its races were run for the season of 1891 on the 

Morris Park track, and afterward for a few years the 

469 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



association returned to its own home. But tlie famous 
pari< never regained its pi'estige. Internal dissensions 
sprang up in the association, and gradually it became 
apparent that the grand old days of Long Branch racing 
had gone, perhaps never to return. For a year or two 
there were hopes in the hearts of many, but rather hopes 
than expectation, that racing might ultimately resume 
there something of its old-time brilliancy; but in 1894, 
the outcome of the situation was the decision on the 
part of the members of the association to abandon the 
enterprise altogether. So the r.ice track property was 
finally sold, in 1898, much to the sorrow of those who 
had been connected with it in various capacities in the 
days of its piosperity. 



existed in the olden times. Thus there aie many who 
are able to indulge their taste for this sport to an extent 
such as has never obtained heretofore. It is from this 
class tnat our leading sportsm-en have been recruited and 
from which has come the large armv of turf admirers, 
whose patronage is essential to the prosperity of the race 
course and those who depend more or less upon it. 

Time was when this leisure class was principally con- 
fined to the South, and that accounts for the special 
prosperity which attended that section in the earlier 
periods of the Republic. The Civil War changed all 
that, howevei', and the Southerners have, to a consider- 
able extent, been obliged to forego their love for sport 
undei' the pressure of moi'e material exigencies. This 






4 ^^,jfk 



/.^.,t/ . ^ 



/■r 'J 





MOhRIS PARK 



THE FINISH 

New York, which leads its sister cities in so many condition of affairs has bi'ought about the comparative 

other respects, has also become the metropolis of racing subordination of the Southern race courses to those 

in the United States. No longei- is the centre of turf near New York. Moreover, the generous patronage 

interest in the South and West, as it was in those far-off that can be counted upon for racing meetings about the 

days before the Civil War. The centre has changed metropolis has made possible a local management of turf 

from South to North, from Louisville and New Orleans affairs upon a broad and liberal scale that has naturally 

to New York. The I'easons for this shifting of the proven an irresistible attraction to all the best horses in 

scene are numerous, and the strongest of them are the country. Large purses and other considerations 

obvious. The rapid increase of individual wealth and have had the inevitable result of making turfmen every- 

its concentration in New York in these closing years of where regard New York as the Mecca toward which 

the century have created a leisure class, such as scarcely their footsteps are annually turned. While there have 

470 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



been important events and heavy stakes set up on race 
courses elsewhere in the country from time to time, 
these have been exceptional than otherwise, when com- 
pared with the more numerous and more vaUiable prizes 
that have challenged the attention of all horsemen in 
connection with the New Yoi'k tracks. 

We have already seen the important and inlluential 
part that was played by the American Jockey (^lub and 
Jerome Park in the I'enaissance of contemporaneous lac- 
ing, and attention has also been called to the establish- 
ment of those notable race courses at Saratoga and Long 
Branch whose brilliant records fill many pages of modern 
turf annals. They have not been alone in the field, how- 
ever, although they were the pioneers, and upon them 
oi' a long time devolved the aureeable task of maintain- 



long identified with the American Jockey Club, it was 
becoming apparent to many that the time would soon 
arrive when there might be an urgent necessity for 
another association that should be the inheritor of all 
that had made Jerome Park most famous. Moreover, 
between the Spring Meeting of the American Jockey 
Club and the Summer Meeting of the Monmouth Park 
Association there was a vacant .time covering several 
weeks, which, it was thought, might be advantageously 
utilized. There were close restrictions on betting at 
that time; but, nevei'theless. racing interest in the vicinity 
of New York and Biooklvn was still maintained at a high 
point. 

Influenced by these and other considerations, and also 
attracted by the already great popularity of Coney Island 




ON THE ROAD TO THE SHEEPSHEAD BAY RACES 



ing racing on a splendid scale and in an energetic and 
honorable manner, and in laying the foundation for the 
present prosperity of the American turf as a national 
institution. Following closely upon their footsteps came 
other associations and other courses whose careers have 
not been less honorable, nor, in their way, less iiifluen- 
tial, in advancing the best interests of the "sport of 
kings." 

it was in the later seventies that the gentlemen inter- 
ested in racing in the vicinity of New York felt the 
demand for additional opportunities for the enjoyment of 
the sport. The glories of Jerome Park were already 
beginning to fade, and Monmouth Park did not alto- 
gether appeal to the particular element that had been 



as a local watering-place. Messrs. Leonard Jerome, John 
G. Heckscher and James R. Keene. with others, effected 
a temporary organization and leased the Prospect Driv- 
ing Park, the same grounds as those afterward owned 
by the Brooklyn Jockey Club. A three-days meeting was 
held in the year 1879. during which sixteen races 
weie run. together with the (Jueens County Hunt Cup 
and the Westchester Polo Club Cup. The judges 
were Messrs. Carroll Livingston, John G. Heckscher 
and J. H. Bradford; the timers. Messrs. W. K. Vander- 
bilt and H. Skipwith Gordon; the Secretary. J. G. 
Heckscher, and the starter. Captain William M. Connor. 
Among owners represented on this historic occasion 
were Messrs. W. P. Burch. George L. Lorillard. John 



471 



THE AATERICAN TURF 



McCullough. W. h. Sanford. F. Gray C.riswold and the 
Dwyei' Brothers. 

As an outcome of this successful initial meeting the 
Coney Island Jockey Club was permanently organized, 
and an autumn meeting was held in September. At 
that time the purses and added money amounted to 
$12,000. Nineteen races were run. and the winning 
owners included Messrs. Pierre Lorillard, George L. 
Lorillard, U. D. Withers, W. P. Burch, L. Hart. W. 
Jennings, C. Reed, E. V. Snedeker, E. J. Baldwin, S. L. 
Waitzfelder. who then owned Luke Blackburn : the 
Dwver Brothers, Bennett & Co.. the Newport Stable 
and the Dalv Brothers. 



into for the constrLiction of the tiack and the building of 
stands and stables. As soon as spring opened the work 
was begun, and by the middle of June a perfectly 
appointed race track of one mile had been completed, 
with an excellent steeplechase course in the inner field, 
and with all the necessities for first-class racing head- 
quarters in the way of saddling paddocks, trainers' 
stands, members' stand and lunch room, an open field 
stand, with judges' and timing stands and betting con- 
veniences. 

Since the place was first laid out the grounds have 
been extensively enlarged and improved. In the spring 
of 1884, the track was lengthened to a mile and a fur- 




CONEY ISLAND JOCKEV CLUB 



CARRIAGE ENTRANCE TO GROUNDS 



The successs of the new venture was now assured 
beyond peradventure. The attractions of the seaside 
and the comforts to be enjoyed there in the summer 
months, for the purposes of racing, had become fully 
demonstrated, and the members of the club forthwith 
entered upon a determination to establish themselves 
permanently at Sheepshead Bay. Some one hundred 
and twelve acres of land, situated on Ocean Avenue and 
about three-quarters of a mile inland fi'om the Manhattan 
Beach Hotel, were purchased. Before the winter was 
over all the plans had been made and contracts entered 



long, with a short chute for races at a mile, which was 
really an extension of the back stretch. Considerable 
monev was also spent on making a mile course on the 
grass inside of the regular track. This last feature has 
always been a special attraction of Sheepshead Bay. 
The opportunitv that it affoids for seeing a race actually 
on the turf, as it is in England, rather than on the pre- 
pared track of the American course, has been thoroughly 
appreciated, even by those who are the strongest advo- 
cates of the American system. In 1887. the club owned 
168 acres of ground, and has made additions since then 



472 



TPIE AMERICAN TURF 



includiiii;' 1=. aciL-s in iS,SS. for a straitiht track, known 
as thf FutLuitv (bourse, whicli is 170 feet siiort of three- 
qnaiters of a mile. 

The inaugural meeting of tiie Ckinev Island Jockey 
Club began JLine k^, 1880. and continued six days. 
Thirty races were run for a total of $22,000 in added 
money and purses. In the judges' stand upon this occa- 
sion were Messrs. J. H. Bradford, W. K. Vanderbilt and 
J. G. K. Lawrence. The timers were Messrs. J. R. 
Coffin and Robert Center, with Captain J. H. Coster at 
the scales and Colonel R. W. Simmons as startei'. The 
prominent events of this first meeting were the Tidal. 
Foam. Surf and Mermaid Stakes, the Coney Island Handi- 



can tLirf annals has taken place under its supei'vision. Year 
after year the meetings have shown an advance in the 
style of racing, in the amount of added money and in 
the evident aim of the management to make the Sheeps- 
head Bay Course the great centre of racing and of social 
standing in sporting matters of tlie metropolis. The 
club has always encouraged all that is good in racing, 
and has been a stuidy opponent of all that is discredit- 
able. Stakes productive of the highest class of racing 
have from time to time been opened, and two of them 
in particular have given to this course a renown that is 
not limited by the confines of New York, nor even of 
the United States. Were no other races ever run theie 




CONEY ISLAND JOCKEY CLUB 



LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURITY COURSE FROM THE CLUB HOUSE 



cap. the Coney Island and the Stirrup Clips, and the 
Coney Island Derby. The winning owners included 
Messrs. Pierre Lorillard. George L. Lorillard, W. A. 
Engeman, W. Jennings. W. M. Conner, A. Burnham 
and the Dwyer Brothers. Among the winning horses 
were Biambaletta. Luke Blackburn, Spinaway, Monitor, 



save the Suburban and the Futurity the position of 
Sheepshead Bay in the annals of turf histoiy would be 
firmly established beyond all cavil. On the days upon 
which these events are decided the attendance is greater 
than that seen at any time on any other metropolitan 
race course during the season. The public interest in 



Glidelia. Grenada, Warfield. Ventilator, Glenmore and these famous fixtures is, in its way, scarcely second to 

Duke of Montrose. the absorbing attention that, in England, is bestowed 

In the nearly two decades that have elapsed since the upon the great classic events, like the Derby, the Two 

Coney Island Jockey Club opened its gates at Sheepshead Thousand Guineas and the St. Leger. 

Bay some of the most famous racing known to Ameri- Other Sheepshead Bay handicap fixtures for all ages 



473 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



have included the Bay Ridge, Sheepshead Bay, Knicker- 
bocker and Universal, at the June Meeting, and the Twin 
City, New York, Omnium and Mayflower, at the Sep- 
tember Meeting. Of the fixtures for three-year olds, the 
Swift. Mermaid. Emporium and Spindrift, and the Coney 
Island Derby at the June Meeting, have always been of 
distinguished character, while the September Stakes and 
the Bridge Handicap at the September Meeting have 
rivaled them in interest. The most important stakes for 
two-year olds have been the Foam, the Surf and Great 
Trial, at the June Meeting, and the Autumn and Flat- 
bush, and the Great Eastern Handicap in September. 
The names of many others might be added, such as the 



Sheepshead Bay has always enjoyed a popularity pe- 
culiarly its own. It has attracted the attend;mce of the 
foremost turfmen in the country and of the finest class 
of patrons in the metropolitan district. The delight- 
ful nature of its surroundings, which include glimpses 
of the ocean, pretty timber, well kept turf and flower 
beds, and last, but not least, duiing the waim days ot 
summer, the almost invariably pleasant sea breezes have 
been among the many reasons for its popularity. While 
these considerations have undoubtedly had more or less 
effect, one must look further for a full explanation of the 
high standing, socially and professionally, of this great 
race course. The meetings are well managed, the con- 




CLUB HOUSE DINING ROOM 



CONEY ISLAND JOCKEY CLUB 



Siren, Spring, Volunteer, Thistle, Vernal, Speed and 
other stakes, and the Turf, Long Island and other handi- 
caps. The Coney Island Cup has also had a prominent 
place with the greatest cup fixtures of the United States. 
Then, in recent times, the Double Event and the Realiza- 
tion have only held second place to the Suburban and 
the Futurity. In memoriam of its former president, J. G. 
K. Lawrence, the Coney Island Jockey Club recently 
changed the name of the Realization Stakes to the Law- 
rence Realization, the first running under the new name 
to be in 1900. 



veniences for horsemen are of the most improved char- 
acter and the public is always assured of first-class 
racing and an honest conduct of affairs. The material 
improvements that have been made in recent years, es- 
pecially the new club hoLise that was opened in 1898, 
have added to the attractions of the place. This club 
house, with all its complete appointments, is one of the 
finest of its kind in the United States. 

Socially, the Conev Island Jockey Club has always 
held a pre-eminent and unchallenged position. In this 
respect it has succeeded to the inheritance of the dis- 



474 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



tinction that the American Jockey Club enjoyed for so 
many years. No other racing association in the United 
States compares with it in this respect, and it is one of 
the soundest and most brilliant social organizations that 
has ever existed in New York. The list of its oflicers shows 
at a glance its eminence in tiiis respect. For 1898, the 
Governors of the club are: Messrs. J. Harry Alexandre, 
James Gordon Bennett, J. H. Bradford, Daniel Butter- 
field, John M. Bowers, Cornelius Fellowes, Robert Goelet, 
F. Gray Griswold, John G. Heckscher, Thomas Hitch- 
cock, Jr., H. B. Hollms, Lawrence Kip, C. H. Kerner, 
H. K. Knapp, Pierre Lorillard, A. Newbold Morris, H. I. 
Nicholas, Herbert C. Pell, Schuyler L Parsons, F. Au- 



ever remain without its great race course. The traditions 
of the locality made it almost imperative that it shoLild 
always be pre-eminently identified with racing interests. 
For a generation, as we have seen, Jerome Park met the 
demand in this connection, and when that famous insti- 
tution was hastening towards its day of disappearance, 
another sprang up to take its place and has not been less 
worthily representative of the best interests of racing in 
and about New York than the best of its predecessors 
and contemporaneous rivals. 

That the new institution, which was to occupy the 
field so long and so strongly held by Jerome Park, should 
be the creation of a member of the Morris f.imily was 




CONEY ISLAND JOCKEY CLUB 



SADDLING PADDOCK 



gustus Schermerhorn, William H. Tailer, James P. Scott, 
William K. Vanderbilt, J. W. Wadsworth and George 
I^eabody Wetmore. The president is Colonel Lawrence 
Kip, the vice-presidents Messrs. William K. Vander- 
bilt and John G. Heckscher, the treasurer Mr. J. H. 
Bradford, and the secretary Mr. Cornelius Fellowes. 
The executive committee consists of the president, 
vice-presidents, treasurer and secretary, and Messrs. 
Daniel Butterfield, George Peabody Wetmore, Herbert 
C. Pell, F. Gray Griswold, and J. Harry Alexandre. 
It was impossible that Westchester County should 



fully in accord with the fitness of things. For several 
generations the Morris family has been identified with 
all that is best in thoroughbred racing in West- 
chester County, and when Mr. John A. Morris deter- 
mined to construct the course that now bears his name, 
racing men felt the utmost confidence that the establish- 
ment would be an honor to the American turf and a credit 
to one of the greatest lacing families that the United 
States has ever known. It was in 1887 that Mr. Morris 
first conceived this plan to revive the old racing glories 
of Westchester. It was not, however, until the begin- 



475 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ning of June, 1888, that the work was actually begun. 
A year was required before the now famous Morris Parle 
was in such shape that the gates could be thrown 
open to the public. As a matter of fact, however, the 
work of construction and improvement was continued 
constantly for several years thereafter, under Mr. Morris' 
direction, before he was satisfied with his creation. 

An enormous amount of money was invested by Mr. 
Morris in this enterprise. A few years ago the estate, 
which consisted of 350 acres, was assessed at $3,000,000. 
It has been estimated that, first and last, the sum ex- 
pended in purchasing and improving the property has 



cumference. The famous Withci's Course is one mile 
around. The Hclipse Course, known also as the '" To- 
boggan," is a nearly straight six furlongs with a con- 
siderable decline. Morris Park has always had a reputa- 
tion of being a very fast track, especially for distances of 
six furlongs or under. Some of the best records known 
to the American turf have been created there. Among 
those which standjn this day are Geraldine's half mile in 
46 seconds, in 1889 : Handpress' 4/2 furlongs in 52 sec- 
onds, in 1897 ; Maid Marian's ?« of a mile in 56,^4 sec- 
onds, in 1894 ; Tormentor's s>^ furlongs in i minute, 3 
seconds, in 1893 ; Domino's J^ mile in i minute. 9 sec- 





llilliif^ 



CONEY ISLAND . 



VIEW OF GRAND STAND FROM THE FIELD 



not been much, if any, less than that amount. The lo- onds. in 1895 ; Sir John's i';,r, miles in 2 minutes, 14 'j 
cation, although by reason of accessibility to the city seconds, in 1892; Hindoocraft's i-^s miles in 2 minutes, 
and in other respects it is eminently desirable, presented 48 seconds, in 1889: Ben Holladay's 1^4 miles in 2 



many obstacles. There was a large bog to be filled in, 
which also called for extensive drainage, while the rocky 
nature of the soil proved a constant difficulty. The 
original intention of constructing a course one mile and 
a half in circumference was fi'ustrated by the rocky 
ledges that were encountered, and the inequalities of the 
ground are responsible for the so-called " Matterhorii " 
ascent and a similar descent in the main course. 

The outer course is one and one-eighth miles in cir- 



minutes, 59'4^ seconds, in 1807, and Tom Hayes' ^' 
mile heats in 1 minute, 105-2 seconds, and i minute, 
1 2 -'4 seconds, m 1S92. Other good records have also 
from time to time been made on this track, among them 
being Fides' Toboggan Slide Handicap at 6 furlongs in 1 
minute, lo';' seconds ; La Tosca's s'i furlongs in i 
minute, 4J{ seconds, and the same thoroughbred's i 
mile in i minute, 39'-^ seconds, and Tristan's Metropoli- 
tan Handicap. 1 's miles, in 1 minute, 5i>i; seconds. 



476 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



Repeatedly live iLirloiitiS have been run there in S9 sec- 
.onds, by Brittanic, Fordham, Sallie McClelland, Annie 
Qiieen and Johnny Heckscher. 

The accommodations provided lor patrons by Mr. 
Moi'ris at Westchester were of the most elaborate char- 
acter. The clubhouse is a magnificent building, com- 
pletely fitted throughout, not only comfortably, but even 
lu.xuriously. From the ball room down to the least im- 
portant apartments everything is in the most perlect 
taste. The grand stand, measuring 650 by 100 feet, has 
accommodations for more than 10,000 people on its 
single tier, with a spacious promenade and wide aisles. 
Beneath are the betting ring, dining rooms, lunch count- 



Altogether the establishineiU was laid out and com- 
pleted by Mr. Morris on an elaborate scale, regardless 
of expense. When it was opened to the public in 
August, 1889, it excited general admiration and 
Linbounded_ praise for its proprietor. It was generally 
agreed that in the perfection of its appointments it sur- 
passed, as one writer at that time said, " Flemington. 
Ascot, Longchamps or Buenos Ayres, which have until 
now been the best in the world." The inaugural meet- 
ing began on August 20, 1889, and on that day Mr. 
Porter Ashe's beautiful fast filly, Geraldine, ridden by 
Isaac Murphy, won the Opening Scramble at five fur- 
longs in I minute. On a later day, at the same meeting, 




CjNE't ISLAND .J-' E' 



A GROUP OF FAVORITES 



ers and other necesary appointments. Three towers 
crown this structure and add to the beauty of its archi- 
tectural effect. In front of the clubhouse and the grand 
stand a lawn slopes down to the rail. Alike from the 
buildings or the lawn the view of all the racing is well- 
nigh perfect. Beyond the clubhouse is the saddling 
paddock, with spacious shed and a pleasant, shady 
grove. There are nearly two miles of stables and about 
1 ,000 horses can be accommodated. The stables are built 
in groups which hold from eight to forty horses each, 
and have perfect ventilation and drainage. 



Britannic reduced the Hve furlongs record to 59 seconds, 
and El Rio Rey the six furlongs record to i minute 1 1 
seconds. The racing was long conducted under the 
auspices of the New York Jockey Club, Mr. H. L)e- 
Courcy Forbes, President, although the entiie enterprise 
belonged to its proprietor, Mr. John A. Morris. Some 
of the great stakes and handicaps that had been con- 
nected with Jerome Park were transferred to the new 
course, and have ever since been run there. 

Early in the nineties Mr. Morris felt disposed to relin- 
c|uish his active interest in the management of the Park, 



477 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



:ind, in 1895, the property was leased to the Westchester 
Racing Association, under whose management the 
meetings have since been continued. This Association 
is controlled by some of the most prominent members 
of The Jockey Club. The most notable events of the 
Morris Park seasons are the Metropolitan. Toboggan, 
Jerome, Ramapo, Hunter and Municipal Handicaps, 
the National Stallion, the New York Steeplechase 
Handicap, the Autumn Serials, and the Belmont, 
Gaiety, Nursery. Belle Meade. Eclipse, Pocantico, Van 
Nest, Bouquet, Champagne, Withers and other stakes. 
A feature of the meetings is the steeplechase racing, 
which has lately assumed more than ordinary inter- 
est, some especially important races being regularly 
put on the card for this class. 

The Brooklyn Jockey Club has a glory of its own in 
the Brooklyn Handicap, that is scarcely second in pop- 
ularity and distinction to any of the great fixtures 
of the American turf. At Gravesend during the season 
many of the most sensational and most reliable thor- 
oughbreds are seen. The club that controls the racing 
was the creation of the Dwyer Brothei's, and is novv' in 
the hands of Mr. Philip J. Dwyer. The course is not 
extensive, nor are the grounds elahoi'ately laid out, but 
a great deal of excellent racing is seen there. In addition 
to the famous Brooklyn Handicap other events that are 
contested for on this track have called out many notable 
runners, and have commanded the tliU patronage of the 
public. Most prominent among them may be men- 
tioned the Fort Hamilton. Woodlawn, Oriental, Brook- 
dale, Parkwav and Lawn View Handicaps; the 
Bedford, Falcon, Tremont, Expectation, Prospect, Spec- 
ulation and other stakes; the Brooklyn Derby and the 
Brooklyn Cup. 

The Brighton Beach race course was another response 
to the popular demand for opportunities to enjoy racing 
in the immediate vicinity of New Yoi'k City. It was 
felt that the time had airived when a popular race course 
for the masses might be established upon the seashore in 
the immediate neighborhood of New York and not con- 
flict with the older and longer established courses, while 
at the same time offering first-class racing. Such was 
the feeling that led to the founding of this course by the 
late William A. Engeman, The enterprise was pre-emi- 
nently successful from the start. Some very good sport 
has been seen there. 

When Mr. William A. Engeman died, his brother, 
Mr. George H. Engeman, succeeded to the presidency 
of the Brighton Beach Racing Association, but several 
years ago the present Mr. William A. Engeman, son of 
the founder of the track, took command, and, under 
his direction, the course has become popular alike with 
owners and trainers, as well as the race-going public. 
Many improvements and additions have been made to 



the property, until now it is well appointed throughout. 
A peculiar fact in the history of the Brighton Beach As- 
sociation has been the interest that the founders have 
taken in charitable enterprises. During the nineteen 
years of its existence, it has had, on many different oc- 
casions, benefit days for public and individual charities. 
Brighton was also a leader in the movement to re-estab- 
lish long-distance racing several years ago. The effort 
culminated in 1897, in the Brighton Cup, 2 '4! miles, in 
which occurred that memorable finish between those 
two good three-year olds. The Friar and Sunny Slope. 

A comparatively recent aspirant for turf honors in the 
vicinty of New York is the Queens County Jockey Club, 
of which Mr. Thomas D. Reilly is the president and 
active manager. The spring racing in the vicinity of the 
metropolis begins on the Aqueduct Course, controlled 
by this club, and attracts representatives from the best 
stables of the country. Thoroughbreds come thither 
directly from Bennings, Washington and from New Or- 
leans and the Southwest circuit. The early season at 
Aqueduct is regarded with interest, not alone for the 
good racing that it presents, but also for its value as 
giving a line upon horses that are likely to be seen in 
the great events upon the larger tracks later in the sum- 
mer. Among the principal races of the Aqueduct spring 
meeting are the Carter Handicap, the Rose, Arverne, 
Canarsie, Ozone, Rockaway, Jamaica and Flushing 
Stakes. 

Although it is generally conceded that the best racing 
of the present generation is seen upon the large metro- 
politan ti'acks, there are many meetings in other sections 
of the country that are only secondary in interest to 
those just referred so. The racing associations in the 
South and West and far away under the shadow of the 
Rocky Mountains and upon the Pacitlc Coast have played 
no small part in contemporaneous affairs. The courses 
that have been established and operated under their dis- 
interested and enthusiastic direction, besides many that 
have been simply individual enterprises, must be classed 
among the impoitant and intluential elements in the de- 
velopment of the modern turf of the United States. So 
numerous have these been in the last quarter of a century 
that it is possible, within restricted space, to refer in the 
briefest manner only to a comparatively few of them. 

The associations and courses of New York, Kentucky, 
New Orleans, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis and a few 
other places have really been the most prominent in this 
connection during the present decade, although the 
number of smaller institutions, very useful and success- 
I'ul in their way, have been numbered by the hundreds. 
Chicago was somewhat slow in coming to the front in rac- 
ing affairs, and it was not until well into the seventies that 
much interest was there manifested in the running horse. 
Some of the first attempts in the direction of populariz- 
47S 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



ing this spoit in the Garden City were directed toward it was ia 1S95 that the Ingleside track of the Pacific 

the wholly incongruous arrangement of combining Coast Jockey Club was opened. This association was 

racing and trotting meetings. Although this experi- started by Messrs. A. B. Spreckles. Henry J. Crocker, 

ment was, as might have been expected, utterly futile, Edward Corrigan and other prominent California racing 

nevertheless, in those early days of Chicago racing, men. Mr.Spreckles was the first President, with Henry J. 

some notable events occurred that have become Crocker Vice-President, and W. S. Leake, Secretary, 

historic. Pat Malloy achieved some of his greatest Subsequently Mr. S. N. Androus became President. The 

triumphs in that city, and on the old Dexter Park Course Ingleside track is situated on the Ocean House road, not 

The Banshee, Gilroy, Merrill and Malcolm delighted far from the old track that was made famous in the sev- 



many thousands with their performances. On that 
course, too. Plantagenet showed his stamina as a four- 
miler and as a worthy descendant of the great Planet. 
It was not until 1879 that turf affairs really assumed 



en ties by the great four-mile races between such cracks 
as Norfolk, Katie Pease, Thad Stevens, Rutherford and 
others. 
Time and space would both fail should an attempt be 



much prominence in the Garden City. The Jockey made to go extensively and carefully, as the subject de- 



Club that was then organized met with unexpected 
popular approval, and the inaugural meeting at the 
Driving Park was a notable occasion with Molly Mc- 
Carthy, Wallenstein, Mistake and others as the stars. In 
1884 the W.ishington Park Course was opened under 
the management of the Driving Park Association, and 
several events that were destined to become fimnous 
were inaugurated. First among these was the American 
Derby, which, it was hoped by its founders, would ulti- 
mately be the dominant fixture of the American turf. 
That result, however, was never attained, although the 
American Derby has always held a good position with 
the great races of other courses in the United States. 
During the eighties and nineties the Washington Park, 
Hawthorne Park and Harlem tracks afforded the prin- 
cipal opportunities for racing in Chicago. In the storm of 
advei'se legislation upon racing matters that swept over 
the country in the early nineties, the Washington Park 
Course succumbed and finallv closed its gates. More 



mands, into the history of other associations and descrip- 
tions of other courses that have been more or less 
prominent, active and useful in this last quarter of a 
century of American thoroughbred racing. Reference 
has, to some extent, already been made to them in the 
chapter on Racing Officials. From a consideration of 
the names of the gentlemen identified with the official 
boards of these associations a very clear idea can be 
gained of the status of the turf in these latter days, both 
as regards its racing connections and its social condi- 
tion. Fuller accounts of the associations and of their 
work in upholding racing interests, and a description of 
the results of their enterprise in establishing and main- 
taining great race courses, together with an account of 
the special events respectively identified with them, 
would make a recital as interesting as it would be ex- 
tensive. It must be sufficient to say, however, that in 
all these particulars the turf of to-day is a worthy 
inheritor of the best traditions of the past, while its pres- 



recently, however, racing has been resumed there under ent supporters, even more than their predecessors, are 

fairly promising conditions. doing a notable work by the expenditure of time and 

In California, the California Jockey Club is the oldest money in sustaining these numerous and superbly ap- 

racing association of the Pacific Coast, being practically pointed courses that, more fully than anything else. 



a survival of San Francisco's old Pacific Coast Blood 
Horse Association, its President, Mr. Thomas H. Will- 
iams, Jr., was really the founder of the club, and asso- 
ciated with him are Colonel D. M. Burns, Vice-President, 
and R. B. Milroy, Secretary, those officers and Major 
Frank McLaughlin and Messrs. M. S. Gunst and Henry 
Ach, comprising the Board of Directors. For a time the 
club held Its meetings upon the Bay District track in 
San Francisco, but, in 1896, opened at Oakland the 
grounds that have since become famous. The property 
was formerly the Oakland Park Trotting Track, but was 
transformed into one of the finest running courses in the 
country. It is a very fast track, as has been shown by 
many peiformances, notably Lucretia Borgia's four miles 
in 7 minutes, 1 1 seconds. The appointments of Oak- 



demonstrate the hold that the sport has upon the com- 
munity at large in these later days. 

With this brief account of a few of the most fiimous 
racing associations and courses of the American turf, 
past and present, this volume must be brought to an 
end. The task undertaken in its preparation has beer 
arduous, but at the same time wholly delightful. It is 
a pleasant chapter of American history that deals with 
the thoroughbred family and all the manifold enterprises 
grouped in connection therewith. In studying this 
record one cannot fail to be impressed with wonder at 
the magnitude of the interests involved in breeding and 
racing, with admiration for the work that has been 
done by the great turfmen in the several generations 
included in the retrospect and with a deep enthusiasm 



land Park, its grand stand, betting ring, paddock and for a sport that has commanded the attention and the 
other structures are of the most commodious character, energies of the foremost men in the community and has 



479 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



lu-en made glorious by the performances of the 
noblest horses that ever struggled with each other for 
victory. 

Combining, as has been done, this review of the past 
with an abundant and deserved consideration of the men 
of to-day, who in various capacities are now upholding 
the honor and advancing the welfare of the turf, there 
comes a final thought that is more than ever interesting 
and encouraging. What has been done in the past, 
however glorious it may have been, appears at every 
point to have been, in a certain sense, only a stepping 
stone to something better and grander. Particularly 
does this seem true when, standing at the close of what 



is really the first complete century of American racing, 
we see the sport established on firmer ground than ever 
before and with more abundant promise. To those 
who study the situation closely there is, alike in the 
inodern perfection of the great thoroughbreds and in the 
character of the active turfmen of the period, the fullest 
assurance of a future that shall outshine in brilliancy 
anything that has preceded it. If the present volume 
shall, even in a small way, attract more attention to the 
subject than has heretofore been given to it and thus be 
a contributing factor in bringing about this result, the 
labor that has been expended upon it will not have been 
in vain. 



4S0 



INDEX 



Pace 

ADLER, ALBERT 444 

ADLER. JOHN J 444 

AFFIANT 208 

AFFINITY 208 

ALTONWOOD PARK 306 

AMAZON 210 

AMERICAN HORSE EX., L'TD 263 

AMERICAN JOCKEY CLUB 463 

AMERICAN TURFMEN IN EUROPE.. 119 

ANDERSON, GEORGE B 414 

ANTONIDUS, WILLIAM II 237 

APPLEBY, LUCIEN 229 

ARIA 240 

ASH LEAF 204 

AYRSHIRE ROSE 204 

BALDWIN, E. J 177 

BALLARD, CHARLES A 379 

BARRETT, JOHN F 417 

BARRETT, THOMAS F 334 

BARRETT, WILLIAM H 345 

BARRICK, WILLIAM M 2S1 

BATHAMPTON 187 

BEACON COURSE 457 

BEARD, FRANCIS D 282 

BEAUCATCHER 214 

BE.\UTY 210 

BELINDA 190, 208 

BELLE MEADE STUD 169 

BELLE OF BUTTE 213 

BELLOVESUS 206 

BELMAR 298 

BELMONT, HON. AUGUST 136,216 

BELMONT. AUGUST 146 

BEN BRUSH 255 

BENEFACTRESS 20B 

BISHOP, J. M 442 

BITTER ROOT STOCK FARM 180 

BOOKER, SAMUEL T 363 

BOYLE, CHARLES 308 

BOYLE. ROBERT V 311 

BRADFORD, JOHN H 150 

BRAMBLE 255 

BRATTON, PETER 362 

BRAY', FRANK M 446 

BREEDERS AND BREEDING ESTAB- 
LISHMENTS 161 

BRIGHTON UEACH R.XCING ASS'X.. 47S 

BRITOMARTIS 210 

BROMLEY & CO 2S3 

BROOKDALE STUD 170 

BROOKLYN JOCKEY CLl'l! 478 

BROWN, CHARLES 412 

BROWN, FRANK 315 

BROWN, JAMES J 347 

BURKE. JOHN JOSEPH 156 

BURLEW, FRED .S40 

BUTTERFLY 211 

BUTTERMERE 199 

BYRNES, MATTHEW 301 

CALIFORNIA JOCKEY CLUB 479 

CAMPBELL, HARDY A 316 

CANTWELL, J. J 351 

CARMODY, JOHN T 329 

CARR, LUTHER 366 

CARROLL. WILLIAM 321 

CARRUTHERS, ROY 282 

CARTER, ARTHUR 360 

CARTER, DOUGLAS 361 

CASSETTE 241 

CAVANAGH, JOHN G 434 

CHANDLER, GEORGE 350 

CLARA 207 

CLARE, JAMES 446 

CLARK. JOHN A 359 

CLARK. M. LEWIS I55 

CLARKE. FRANK T 435 



Page 

CLASON, AUGUSTUS 235 

CLAY & WOODFORD 168 

CLAYTON, ALONZO 394 

CLEODORA 206 

CLIFFORD 254 

CLOSETIIE-DOOR 200 

CLOYD, WILLIAM N 335 

COLEMAN, MICHAEL A 337 

COLLINS, RICHARD 363 

CONEY ISLAND JOCKEY CLUli 472 

COOPER, ALBERT 356 

COSTER, J. H 142 

COWAN, FRED 433 

COYLE, JOHN L 405 

COYLIE, JOHN T 399 

CRICKMORE, H. G 157 

CROKER 208 

CROKER, RICHARD 170 

CRUTCH 214 

DALY, JOHN 281 

DALY, MARCUS 179 

DALY', WILLIAM C 280 

DECKER, ORSON J 351 

DOGGETT, RICHARD C 322 

DOGGETT, SAMUEL J 393 

DOMITOR 293 

DON JOSE 252 

DONNELLY, JOHN 416 

DRISCOLL, JOHN W 344 

DUKE, WILLIAM, JR 280 

DUMAS, JAMES H 335 

DUNLAP, LESLIE H 415 

DUNNE, PATRICK 282 

DWYER. MICHAEL F 305 

DWYER, PHILIP J 305 

E.\GLE COURSE 457 

EARLEY, MATTHEW 364 

EASTON, WILLIAM 257 

E-COME 212 

ELLA GREGG 215 

ELLIOTT, JOHN V 319 

ENGLISH, RICHARD (TED) 410 

ERIN-GO-P.RAGH 198 

ETTA M'KEEVER 215 

EVANS. GEORGE, JR 4OS 

FAIRVIEW STUD 170 

FAMOUS RACE COURSES ... 451 

FAMOUS RACING EVENTS 59 

FARLEY', OLIVER C 440 

FASHION COURSE 457 

FASHION JOCKEY CLUB 458 

FEAKES, EDWARD 323 

FEAKES, MATTHEW 352 

FEATHERSTONE, ARTHUR 283 

FELLOWES, CORNELIUS 154 

FIDES 226 

FINNIGAN, EUGENE 411 

FIRST MATE 289 

FITZGERALD, C. J 437 

FITZPATRICK. WILLIAM J 4.38 

FLEMING. JAMES 354 

FLORAL PARK 325 

FLORID 211 

FORD. THOMAS S 445 

FOX, PAUL 349 

FRAYLING, JAMES 339 

FREE ADVICE 288 

GALWAY, JAMES 152 

GARCIA, VINCENT 405 

GARRIGAN, CHARLES F 401 

GARRISON, EDWARD H 376 

GEE, WILLIAM 406 

481 



I'ACE 

GIDEON, DAVID 181 

GILPIN, WILLIAM B XsO 

GOLDEiN AGE OF RACING, A 2S 

GOLDSiiOROUGH, A. J 332 

GOLDSBOKOUGH, CHARLES H 332 

GOODWIN BROTHERS 44!l 

GOR.MAN, WILLIAM A 436 

GRANNAN, CHARLES R 426 

GREAT THOROUGHBREDS 7» 

GREENE, THOMAS 357 

GRIFFIN, HENRY F 390 

GWENNIN 2(» 

GWENOLYN -. 20.5 

HAGGIN, JAMES B 175 

HAGGINS, BUD 414 

HAM, WILLIAM 393 

HAMILTON, ANTHONY 395 

HAMILTON, GUSTAVUS 418 

HANAWALT, GEORGE 418 

HANDSPRING 305 

HANLON, F. 15« 

HANON, AUGUSTUS 348 

HANOVER 242 

HARRIS, HENRY 358 

HARRIS, HENRY J 416 

HARRISON, ROBERT 398 

HAYWARD, WILLIAM 331 

HAYWARD, WILLIAM, JR 331 

HECKLER, F. A 44S 

HECTOR, ALEXANDER 366 

HEINEMAN, CHARLES F 431 

HENNESSEY. M. F 40S 

HENRY OF NAVARRE 221 

HEWrrT, JOSEPH S 396 

HILL, JOHN T 40» 

HIRSCH. MAX 409 

HOMELESS 213 

HOMEMADE 21J 

HORSE, INTRODUCTION OF INTO 

AMERICA 11 

HOTHERSALL, JOHN W 418 

HOWARD S 294 

HUGHES, CHARLES H 282 

HUGHES, EDWARD F 341 

HUNTER, JOHN 278 

HUSTON, WILLIAM 33S 

ILITHYIA 197 

INVERNESS 186 

IRONY' 200 

IRVING, JAMES 395 

IRVING, ROBERT G 424 

ISIS 194, 197 

IVY BLOOM 211 

JACKSON, JOHN H JgJ 

JENNINGS, GEORGE W 366 

JENNINGS, WALTER B 281 

JENNINGS, WILLIAM 282 

JEROME. LEONARD W 134 

JEROME PARK COURSE 463 

JOCKEYS 369 

JOHNSON, EDWARD rm,, 

JOHNSTON, ISAAC 361 

JOHNSTON, JAMES T. R .'.' 333 

JONES, EDMUND J 3St 

JOYNER, ANDREW J .'.'.'" 303 

K.\NE. WILLIAM 443 

KARRICK, KILLIAM H 314 

KEARNEY, EDWARD "157 

KEENE, JAMES R '" 147 

KELLY', FRANCIS '" 353 

KELLY, FRANK ...."..!. 432 

KELLY, GEORGE F 355 

KEN NY, JOHN 355 

KIP, LAWRENCE 155 



Page 

KNAPP, H. K 157 

KNIGHT OF ELLERSLIE 232 

LA BELLE STUD 256 

LADY JLDETTE 205 

LADY MARGARET 227 

LAKELAND, ALFRED 336 

LAKELAND. \VILLL-\M 312 

LAKE SHORE 307 

LAMLY, JOHN 378 

LAMPLIGHTER 244 

LARV.-\ 211 

LA TRAPPE 197 

LAWRENCE, JAMES G. K 141 

LEIGH, H. EUGENE 253 

LEVIEN, JOHN D 446 

LEWIS, HARRY 377 

LEXINGTON COURSE 454 

LEXINGTON JOCKEY CLUl; 455 

LION HEART 327 

LITTLEFIELD, PHILIP J 347 

LLOYD, ROBERT S 429 

LLOYD. THOMAS 429 

LOFTUS, PETER J 339 

LORGNETTE 199 

LORILLARD, GEORGE L 27S 

LORILLARD, PIERRE 173, 27S 

LOUD, RICHARD H 342 

LUCKEY, JAMES M 350 

LUCKEY, MARTIN R 344 

McCABE, FRANK 304 

McCAFFERTY, JOHN J 2S1 

McCORMICK, JAMES H 313 

McDERMOTT, WILLIAM H 397 

McGIVNEY, THOMAS 330 

McGIVNEY, WILLIAM T 330 

McGRATHIANA STUD 243 

McINERNEY, P. J 413 

McLaughlin, james f 317 

McLEAR, JOHN 337 

MADDEN, JOHN E 281 

MAGNETIZER 222 

MAIDEN POEM 206 

MAL-LAK-WA 209 

MARA, JAMES J 415 

MARTIN, HARRY 3S9 

MARYLAND JOCKEY CLUB 467 

MATT BYRNES 196 

MEEHAN, GEORGE W 346 

MEHALLAH 207 

MEN OF THE TURF 421 

MERCKEL, FRED 326 

METAIRIE COURSE 453 

METAIRIE JOCKEY CLUB 454 

METROPOLITAN TURF ASS'N 421 

MICHAEL, JIMMY 391 

MIDGLEY, WILLIAM R 334 

MILLER, ANDREW 151 

MILLER. CHARLES 338 

MILLER, FRED T 336 

ivilLLEK, JOHN 340 

MINTER, EDWARD 417 

MISERERE 201 

MISS DAREBIN 191, 209 

MISSOULA 209 

MODERN TURF DEVELOPMENT 42 

MOLLER 201 

MONMOUTH PARK 469 

MONMOUTH PARK ASSOCIATION... 469 
MONMOLTTH PARK STOCK FARM.... 236 

MONSON, ALONZO C 137 

MONTANA 188 

MOONEY, DANIEL W 345 

MORRIS, GREEN B 302 

MORRIS, JOHN A 277 

MORRIS PARK 476 



Page 

MOSER, EDWARD C 408 

MOSS ROSE 233 

MOYA 209 

MURPHY, THOMAS H 383 

MURPHY, TIMOTHY II 413 

MURR..\Y, ROBERT M 358 

.MURRY, W. M 342 

N.^MELY" 203 

NAMESAKE 203 

NAMONIA , 212 

N.'VTIONAL COURSE ' 452 

N.\TIOl\AL F.\IR .VSSOCl.VTION 453 

N.VTIONAL JOCKEY CLUB 453 

NEUMEYER, JOHN P 406 

NEWMARKET COURSE (L. I.) 456 

NEWMARKET COURSE (VA.) 451 

NEW YORK JOCKEY CLUB 477 

NICHOMACHUS 212 

NICK 287 

NIXON, JOHN 327 

NURSERY STUD 217 

O'BRIEN, THOMAS 430 

O'CONNOR. WILLIAM S 385 

O'DONNELL, CHARLES 399 

OFFICIALS, RACING 133, 2S2 

OKEMA 251 

O'LEARY, FRANK 380 

OLNEY, WALDO 341 

ON DECK 284 

ORIOLE 204 

ORION 291 

ORNAMENT 324 

OWENS, JAMES 411 

OWNERS AND TR.\1NERS 269 

PACIFIC COAST JOCKEY CLUB 479 

PACTARIA 240 

PACTOLUS 238 

PADUASOY 239 

PARKER, FrL\NK L 306 

PATTERSON, CHARLES T 324 

PENN, WILLIAM 418 

PERKINS, JAMES 386 

PETERS, EDWARD 325 

PETERS, WILLIAM H 428 

PETTICOAT 201 

PETTINGILL, CHARLES H 448 

PICKERING, W. W 407 

PORTER, WILLIAM 409 

POTOMAC 225 

POWERS, THOMAS 397 

PRICE, JOHN W 158 

PRIMROSE 196 

PRYOR, LUKE 354 

PULSIFER, DAVID T 281 

PURDY, JOHN F 274 



QUEENS COUNTY JOCKEY CLUB.... 478 



RACE COURSES, FAMOUS 451 

RACE HORSES. PAST AND PRESENT.. 99 

R.\CING, A GOLDEN AGE OF 26 

R.VCING ASSOCIATIONS 451 

RACING EVENTS, FAMOUS 59 

RACING OFFICIALS 133 

RAMAPO STUD FARM 281 

RAMBLER 255 

RAMSEY, JOHN 365 

RANCHO DEL PASO 176 

RANCOCAS STUD 173 

RAYON D'OR 220 

REED, CHARLES 170 

RED SPINNER 198 

482 



Page 

REGAN, FRANK 282 

ROGERS, JOHN 359 

ROLLINS, WALTER C 282 

RONDO 292 

RUINART .■' 326 

RUPPERT, JACOB, JR 300 

SACRIFICE 203 

SAM M'KEEVER 215 

SANFORD, MILTON H 275 

SANTA ANITA RANCH 177 

SARAGOSSA 309 

SARATOGA ASSOCIATION 460 

SARATOG.V COURSE 460 

SCHERRER, JOSEPH 382 

SCIIIMMEL, WILLIAM 407 

SEAGRA.M. JOSEPH E 309 

SEMPER EGO 290 

SENATOR MATTS 199 

SEPTUOR 310 

SHANNON, MICHAEL 403 

SHEEDY, MICHAEL 402 

SHEPPARD, WILLIAM 439 

SHEEPSHEAD BAY COURSE 472 

SHERIDAN. JOHN J 349 

SHIELDS HENRY 392 

SIGLER, GEORGE 352 

SILVER BEAUX 213 

SILVER BROOK STUD 230 

SIMS, WILLIAM 375 

SLACK, J. B 412 

SLOAN, DAVID 335 

SLOAN, JAMES F. (TOD) 372, 373 

SLLIW DANCE 214 

SMITH, GEORGE E 296 

SMITH, WILLIAM C 333 

SONGER, ALBERT 396 

SOUTH C.\ROLINA JOCKEY CLUB .. 451 

SPENCER, HENRY 381 

ST.ARTERS 222 

ST. BL.AISE 224 

ST. BLAISE. SALE OF 25S 

STEEDS. EDWARD A 343 

STEVENS. JOHN C 274 

STONENELLIE 239 

STORM, SAMUEL G 447 

STURGIS, FRANK K 149 

SWORD DANCE 214 

TAMMANY 185 

TAMOR 204 

TAR.AL, FRED 374 

TAYLOR, WILSON S 362 

TEBO, ROBERT P 427 

TEMPE 202 

TEMPEAN 202 

THE ILL-USED 223 

THE PEPPER 189 

THE TASK 202 

THE WINNER 299 

THOMPSON, ISAAC S .' 448 

THOMPSON, J. COLEY 418 

THOMPSON, LEWIS S 171 

TIKIMPSON, WILLIAM P., JR 171 

THOROUGHBREDS, GREAT 79 

TRAINERS 269 

TRAVERS, WILLIAM R 135 

TRISTAN 234 

TROWBRIDGE, SAMUEL 249 

TURF DEVELOPMENT. MODERN 42 

TURFMEN, IN EUROPE, AMERICAN, 119 
TYPHOON II 286 

UNION COURSE 457 

ULLMAN, JOSEPH F US 



Pace 

VALENTINE, WILLIAM 4U4 

VAN KEUREN, EUGENE 39S 

VAN KEUREN, WILLIAM 343 

VEITCH, SILAS 410 

VENDIG, JOSEPH H 425 

VINCENT, WILLIAM 404 

VIRGIN 212 

VOSBURGH. WALTER S 152 

WALCOTT, ALFRED F 282 

WALDEN, JAMES F 333 



Page 

WALKER. J. R 32S 

WALLACE, WILLIAM M 318 

WALLER, ASHER 409 

WAPSniRE, ALFRED II 403 

WARE, FRANCIS M 262 

WASHINGTON COl'RSK (S. C.) 451 

WASHINGTON PARK ASS'N 479 

WATERS, R. E 443 

WFIIRHAHN, HENRY 350 

WELSH, JOHN J 346 

WESTCHF.STER RACING ASS'N 478 

WHEATLY, CHARLES 137 



Page 

WHEELOCK, GEORGE A 423 

WHITE, JOHN 364 

WIENER, M. R 441 

WILLHITE, WALTER 401 

WILLIAMS, EDWARD E 447 

WILLIAMS, HOWARD 353 

WILLIAMS, ROBERT (TINY) 394 

WISHARD, ENOCH 280 

WITHEKS. DAVID D 133 

WOOD VIOLET 192 

YOUNG, MILTON 243 






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